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CONTRIBUTIONS 


TO   THE 


HISTORY  AND  IMPROVEMENT 


OF   THE 


GERMAN  UNIVERSITIES. 


BY  KARL  VON  RAUMER 


Reprinted  from  the  American  Journal  of  Education. 

EDITED    BY  HENRY    BARNARD,    LL.D., 

Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 


NEW    YOEK: 
PUBLISHED    BY    F.   C.    BROWNELL, 

NO.    12    APPLETON'S    BUILDING. 

18  5  0. 


ENTERED,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859, 

EY   HENfiY  BARNARD.. 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  Connecticut. 


-<    ;c 


j 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  following  Contributions  to  the  History  and  Improvement  of  "  The 
German  Universities"  constitutes  the  fourth  volume  of  Prof.  Raumer's 
"History  of  Pedagogics"  and  was  translated  from  the  last  German  edi- 
tion, for  the  " American  Journal  of  Education"  by  the  Associate  Editor, 
Mr.  Frederic  B.  Perkins,  Librarian  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society. 
Prof.  Raumer  introduces  his  work  with  the  following  quotation,  on  the 
title-page,  from  Savigny's  "  History  of  the  Civil  Lww." 

"The  Universities  have  come  down  to  us  as  a  noble  inheritance  of  former  times;  and  we  are 
bound  in  honor  to  leave  them  to  future  generations  with  their  condition  improved  as  far  as  possible, 
and  injured  as  little  as  possible." 

The  work  is  dedicated  by  the  German  author 

TO  THE 

STUDENTS  OF   THE  PAST   AND   PRESENT, 

WHO  HAVE  BEEN  MY  COMPANIONS  FROM  1S11  TO  1854, 

I     DEDICATE     THIS     BOOK, 

IN    TRUE    AND    HEARTFELT   LOVE. 

The  Preface  is  as  follows : — 

The  reader  here  receives  the  conclusion  of  my  work. 

It  is  a  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  universities.  When  I  commenced  it, 
I  hoped  confidently  to  be  able  to  make  it  greater ;  but  in  proportion  as  I  gained 
an  insight  into  the  difficulty  of  the  enterprise  of  writing  a  complete  history  of  the 
German  universities,  my  courage  failed.  Many  of  the  difficulties  which  the  his- 
torian of  the  German  people  has  to  overcome,  are  here  also  found  in  the  way,  and 
in  much  increased  dimensions. 

If  all  the  German  universities  possessed  the  same  features,  if  the  character- 
istics of  one  of  them — important  modifications  excepted — would  stand  for  all,  then 
the  task  of  their  historian  would,  apparently,  be  quite  simple.  But  how  different, 
and  how  radically  different,  are  the  universities  from  each  other ! 

Even  the  multiplicity  of  the  German  nationalities,  governments,  and  sects  had 
much  to  do  in  distinguishing  them.  To  compare,  for  instance,  the  universities 
of  Gottingen  and  Jena,  as  they  were  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century; 
what  a  contrast  appears  between  them  !  And  how  much  greater  is  the  difference 
between  these  two  Protestant  universities  and  the  Catholic  one  of  Vienna ! 

Further  than  this,  each  single  university  undergoes  such  changes  in  the  course 
of  time,  tbat  it  appears,  as  it  were,  different  from  itself.  To  instance  the  Uni- 
versity of  Heidelberg :  Catholic  in  the  beginning,  it  became  Lutheran  in  155G, 
Reformed  in  1560,  Lutheran  in  1576,  Reformed  again  in  1583 ;  afterward  came 
under  the  management  of  the  Jesuits  ;  and,  at  the  destruction  of  their  order, 
returned  to  Protestantism. 


541344 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

To  these  difficulties,  in  the  way  of  the  historian  of  all  the  German  universities, 
is  added  this  one  :  that  the  most  important  sources  of  information  fail  him  ;  as  we 
have,  namely,  hut  few  competent  histories  of  single  universities — such,  for  ex- 
ample, as  KliipiVl's  valuable  "Jlistory  of  the  University  of  Tubingen." 

These  considerations  will  sufficiently  excuse  me  for  publishing  only  contribu- 
tions to  a  history  of  the  German  universities,  which  will  sooner  or  later  appear. 

What  I  have  added  under  the  name  of  "Academical  Treatises,"  is  also  a  con- 
tribution to  history ;  for  the  reason  that  these  treatises  will,  of  necessity,  not  be 
worthless  for  some  future  historian  of  the  present  condition  of  our  universities. 

In  conclusion,  I  desire  gratefully  to  acknowledge  the  goodness  of  Chief  Libra- 
rian lloeck,  for  books  furnished  me  from  the  Gottingen  library.  Mr.  Stenglein, 
librarian  at  Bamberg,  also  most  willingly  furnished  me  with  books  from  it.  The 
use  of  the  Eoyal  Library  at  Berlin  was  also  afforded  me,  with  distinguished 
friendliness  and  kindness ;  for  which  I  would  once  more  most  heartily  thank 
Privy  Councilor  and  Chief  Librarian  Pertz,  and  Librarians  Dr.  Pinder  and  Dr. 
Friedlander. 

Eklangen,  Uli  April,  1854.  Kakl  von  Eaumer. 

NOTE   BY   THE    AMERICAN    EDITOR. 

In  order  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  basis  upon  which  the  university 
system  of  Germany  rests,  and  to  furnish  the  data  for  a  comparison 
between  our  American  colleges  and  professional  schools,  and  the  cor- 
responding institutions  of  higher  learning  and  special  scientific  instruc- 
tion in  Europe,  there  are  from  time  to  time  published  in  the  "American, 
Journal  of  Education,"  accounts  of  the  Gymnasia,  Latin  Schools,  Lycea, 
and  other  institutions  of  secondary  education,  and  also  of  the  Polytechnic 
Institutions,  Schools  of  Arts,  Science,  Agriculture,  &c,  of  the  principal 
states  of  Europe. 

In  this  place  we  can  merely  remind  the  reader  that,  in  order  justly  to 
estimate  the  absolute  and  relative  excellence  and  value  of  the  German 
universities,  and  their  systems,  as  compared  with  our  American  colleges, 
he  must  always  bear  in  mind  the  great  differences  between  the  states  of 
society  in  which  the  two  classes  of  institutions  exist,  the  different  ages  of 
their  undergraduates,  the  different  classes  of  avocations  into  which  their 
graduates  enter,  and  the  different  tests  of  attainment  which  are  applied 
to  these  graduates  before  their  entrance  into  actual  life. 

University  of  Wisconsin, 

Madison,  June  4cth,  1859. 


CONTENTS. 


Paob. 

LvTRODUCTrON •  •  ** 

I.  The  German  Universities.     From  the  German  of  Karl  von  Raumer 9 

I.  Historical 9 

1.  Introduction.     Universities  of  Salerno,  Bologna,  and  Paris 9 

2.  List  of  German  Universities,  with  date  of  their  foundation 10 

3.  The  German  Universities  in  the  Fourteenth  and  Fifteenth  centuries 11 

A.  Charters,  or  Letters  of  Foundation 11 

B.  The  Pope  and  the  Universities 12 

C.  Tiie  Emperor  and  the  Universities 10 

D.  Organization  of  the  earliest  German  Universities 17 

a.  The  Four  Nations.     Four  Faculties.     Rector.    Chancellor.    Endowments.  18 


b.  The  Four  Faculties. 


20 


1.  Faculty  of  Arts 20 

2.  Faculty  of  Theology 21 

3.  Faculty  of  Canon  and  Civil  Law 24 

4.  Faculty  of  Medicine 26 

c.  Customs  and  Discipline 27 

4.  University  of  Wittenberg  and  its  relations  to  the  earlier  Universities 30 

5.  History  of  the  Customs  of  the  Universities  in  the  Seventeenth  Century 37 


A.  The  Deposition. 

B.  Pennalism 


6.  History  of  the  Universities  in  the  Eighteenth  Century 52 

A.  Nationalism.     National  Societies ™ 

B.  Students'  orders 56 

7.  History  of  the  Universities  in  the  Nineteenth  Century 58 

Introduction  ;  the  author's  academical  experience 59 

A.  Entrance  at  Halle,  1799  ;  a  preliminary  view 59 

B.  Gottingen ;  Easter  1801  to  Easter  1803 59 

C.  Halle  ;  Easter  1803  to  Sept.  1805 J>8 

D.  Breslau;  1810  to  1817 76 

a.  Establishment  of  the  Jena  Burschenschaft,  July  18,  1816.    Wartburg  Festi 

val,  Oct.  18,  1817 80 

b.  Establishment  of  the  general  Burschenschaft,  in  1818 91 

E.  Breslau,  1817  to  1819 92 

a.  Sand lt)2 

b.  The  consequences  of  Sand's  crime.     Investigations.     Breaking  up  of  the 

societies.    Destruction  of  the  Burschenschaft !24 

F.  Halle,  1819  to  1823 '•J 

Conclusion 

_     .                                                                                                     155 

II.  Appendix 

I.  Bull  of  Pius  II.,  creating  University  of  Ingoldstadt »' 

II.  List  of  Lectures  in  the  Faculty  of  Arts  in  1366 lo9 

III.  Bursaries 

IV.  The  "Comment"  of  the  National  Societies lb* 

V.  Statutes |j* 

A.  Constitution  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft ibb 

B.  The  Jena  Burschenschaft 

VI.  The  Wartburg  Letters 

Vll.  Bahrdt  with  the  iron  forehead 

VIII    Substance  of  Tubingen  Statutes  for  organizing  a  students'  committee 187 


G  CONTENTS. 

Pag«. 

IX.  Extract  from  an  Address  of  Prof.  Heyder,  at  Jena,  in  1607 188 

X.  Synonyms  of  "  Beanvs  " 191 

XI.  Meyfart's  "Jlretinus  "  or  Student  Life  in  the  Sixteenth  Century 191 

XII.  Grant  of  Privileges  by  Leopold  1.  to  the  University  of  Hulle 192 

XIII.  Works  referred  to 253 

XIV.  The  Universities  in  the  summer  of  1853 198 

III.  Academical  Treatises 201 

1.  Lecture  system.     Dialogic  instruction 201 

2.  Examinations 206 

3.  Obligatory  lectures.     Optional  attendance.    Lyceums.     Relations  of  the  philo- 

sophical faculty  and  their  lectures,  to  those  of  the  professional  studies 213 

4.  Personal  relations  of  the  professors  and  students 229 

5.  Small  and  large  universities.     Academies 236 

6.  University  instruction  in  elementary  natural  history 241 

7.  Student  songs 245 

Conclusion 049 

Index 255 


1.    HISTORY  OF  THE  GERMAN  UNIVERSITIES. 


I.    THE  GERMAN  UNIVERSITIES. 

(Translated  from  the  German  of  Karl  von  Eaumer  for  this  Journal.) 


I.     Introduction. 

The  foundation  of  the  earliest  German  universities  took  place  at  a 
time  when  both  Italy  and  France  had  long  possessed  them.  Tacitus' 
saying  of  the  youth  of  Germany,  "  Sera  juvenum  pubertas"  is  equally 
applicable  to  the  development  of  her  intellect. 

Among  the  oldest  universities  of  the  middle  ages,*  we  may  here 
remark  upon  three — Salerno,  Bologna,  and  Paris. 

The  school  of  Salerno  was  an  extremely  ancient  school  of  medicine ; 
a  sort  of  isolated  medical  faculty,  which  had  no  special  influence  upon 
subsequent  universities. 

At  the  University  of  Bologna,  law  was  the  leading  study.  The  ori- 
gin of  the  university  is  obscure.  At  the  diet  of  Roncaglia,  in  1158, 
it  received  from  Frederic  Barbarossa  a  grant  of  privileges  which  has 
often  been  referred  to  on  occasion  of  the  issue  of  charters  to  later  Ger- 
man universities.f 

The  organization  of  the  University  of  Bologna  was  materially  different 
from  that  of  all  the  later  German  universities.  This  appears  from  the 
fact,  that  in  it  only  the  foreign  students  (advence  forenses)  had  at 
Bologna,  complete  rights  of  membership.  They  chose  the  rector,  and 
their  assembly,  summoned  by  the  rector,  was  the  proper  university. 
In  this  assembly  the  teachers  and  professors  had  no  voice,  but  were 
wholly  dependent  upon  the  rector  and  the  university.];  This  single 
fact  shows  clearly  enough,  that  Bologna  was  not  the  model  of  the  Ger- 
man universities.  Paris  served  in  that  capacity,  especially  for  the 
earliest ;  such  as  Prague,  Vienna,  Heidelberg,  &c. 

The  University  of  Paris  differed  from  that  of  Bologna  chiefly  in  that 
theology  was  its  prominent  study,§  and  also  in  respect  to  its  organiza- 
tion. At  Paris,  the  authority  was  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the 
teachers,  the  scholars  having  no  part  whatever  in  it.  As  a  rule,  only 
actual  professional  instructors  could  be  members  of  the  governing  as- 
sembly, and  other  graduates  only  on  extraordinary  occasions. 

*  The  following  brief  sketch  I  gather  chiefly  from  the  clear  and  thorough  account  of  Savigny. 
(HUtory  of  the  Roman  Jurisprudence  in  the  Middle  Ages,  vol.  ii.  2d  ed.  1834.) 

t  Compare,  further  on,  the  charters  of  Archduke  Rudolph  and  of  Albert  of  Austria,  to  the 
University  of  Vienna. 

%  For  later  extensions  and  changes  in  the  university,  see  Savigny,  1.  c. 

§  In  Paris,  however,  only  the  canon  law,  proceeding  from  the  Church,  could  be  read,— not  the 
civil  law ;  and  this  prohibition  was  not  removed  until  1679. 


10  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

B&t?>  teachers  and  scholars  were  divided  into  four  nations:  French, 
English  or  German,  Picard,  and  Norman.  Each  nation  had  a  procu- 
rator at  its  head ;  as  their  subsequent  derivatives,  the  four  faculties, 
had  each  a  dean. 

The  rector  was  chosen  only  from  the  faculty  of  arts  (of  philosophy), 
and,  indeed,  only  from  masters  in  that  faculty. 

To  the  university  belonged  colleges,  some  of  which  were  foundations 
for  the  poor,  and  others  pension  (boarding)  institutions  for  those  in 
good  circumstances.  One  of  these  colleges  was  the  Sorbonne,  founded 
in  the  year  1250. 

In  discussing  the  German  universities,  especially  the  oldest,  we  shall 
repeatedly  refer  to  the  organization  of  the  University  of  Paris.  We 
have  no  complete  body  of  statutes  of  this  university,  but  can  arrive  at 
a  near  approximation  to  them,  from  various  sources.  For  some  of  the 
German  university  statutes,  as  for  instance  those  of  Vienna,  repeatedly 
declare  that  they  wholly  follow  the  organization  of  the  Paris  univer- 
sity ;  so  that  we  may  consider  them,  in  substance  at  least,  as  repre- 
senting those  which  formed  there,  in  fact  if  not  in  statutory  form,  a 
common  law. 

II.     List  of  the  German  Universities  in  the  Order  of  their  Foundation. 

The  universities  of  Germany  were  founded  in  the  following  order : 

a.  In  the  \Uh  Century. 

1.  Prague,  1348.  4.  Cologne,  1388. 

2.  Vienna,  1365.  5.  Erfurt,  1392. 

3.  Heidelberg,  1386. 

b.  In  the  \5th  Century. 

6.  Leipzig,  1409.  10.  Ingolstadt,   1472;  transferred  to 

7.  Rostock,  1419.  Landshut  in  1802,  and  in  1826 

8.  Greifswald,  1456.  to  Munich. 

9.  Freiburg,  1457.  11.  Tubingen,  1477. 

12.  Mentz,  1477. 

c.  In  the  Mtth  Century. 

13.  "Wittenberer,   1502;    removed    to        18.  Jena,  1558. 

Halle  in  1817.  19.  Helmstadt,  1576  ;  dissolved  1809. 

14.  Frankfurt,  1506;  removed  to  Bres-        20.  Altorf,  1578  ;  dissolved. 

lau  in  1811.  21.  Olmiitz,  1581. 

15.  Marburg,  1527.  22.  Wurzburg,  1582. 

16.  Konigsberg,  1544.  23.  Gratz,  1586. 

17.  Dillingen,  1549. 

d.  In  the  \1th  Century. 

24.  Giessen,  1607.  30.  Bamberg,  1638. 

25.  Paderborn,  1615.  31.  Herborn,  1654. 

26.  Rinteln,  1621 ;  dissolved  in  1809.  32.  Duisburg,  1655  ;  dissolved. 

27.  Salzburer,  1623.  33.  Kiel,  1665. 

28.  Osnabruck,  1630.  34.  Inspruck,  1672. 

29.  Linz,  1636.  35.  Halle,  1694. 

e.  In  the  I8lh  Century. 
Breslau,  1702.  38.  Erlangen,  1743. 


87.  Gottingen,  1737. 

89.  Berlin,  180! 
40.  Bonn,  1818 


/.  In  the  \§th  Century. 
89.  Berlin,  1809.  41.  Munich,  1826. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  11 

III.    The  German  Universities  of  the  14th  and  15th  Centuries. 

A. CHARTERS. 

The  origin  of  the  universities  of  Bologna  and  Paris  is  uncertain,  as 
is  that  of  the  two  English  universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge. 

The  origin  of  every  German  university,  however,  is  known.  German 
princes,  either  temporal  or  spiritual,  founded  them,  except  a  few,  such 
as  Erfurt,  Altorf,  Strasburg,  and  Cologne,  which  were  founded  by  hon- 
ored town  magistrates.  The  memory  of  these  founders  has  been  ac- 
knowledged by  naming  the  universities  after  them.* 

That  such  a  grateful  memory  is  well  deserved,  appears  from  the 
charters  which  they  gave  to  the  universities ;  which  show  clearly  the 
sincere  benevolence,  and  noble  princely  conscientiousness,  with  which 
they  cared  for  the  temporal  and  eternal  well-being  of  their  subjects,  as 
well  as  their  real  respect  for  learning,  and  recognition  of  its  value  to  men. 

These  characteristics  are  to  be  discovered  even  in  the  decree  issued 
by  the  Emperor  Frederic  Barbarossa  at  the  Diet  of  Roncaglia,  a.  d. 
1158,  in  favor  of  the  teachers  and  students  of  Bologna ;  and  which  has 
furnished  a  precedent  for  many  charters  given  to  universities  by  later 
princes.  In  this  decree  the  emperor  promises  his  protection  to  the 
students  and  professors  during  their  journeys  to  and  from  the  university 
city,  and  their  sojourn  there.  "  For,"  he  says,  "  we  hold  it  proper,  if 
all  those  who  do  well  deserve  in  all  ways  our  approbation  and  protec- 
tion, that  we  should  protect  with  special  affection  against  all  injury, 
those  through  whose  learning  the  whole  earth  will  become  enlight- 
ened, and  our  subjects  will  learn  to  be  obedient  to  God,  and  to  us,  his 
servant."  For,  the  decree  continues,  who  will  not  sympathize  with 
those  who,  when  they  have  left  their  native  land  and  exposed  them- 
selves to  poverty  and  peril  for  the  love  of  learning,  often  suffer  misuse 
from  the  vilest  of  men,  without  reason  ?  And  the  emperor  threatens 
all,  even  the  authorities,  with  fines  and  other  penalties,  if  they  shall 
disobey  the  decree. 

From  all  the  charters  of  foundation  of  the  German  universities,  from 
the  most  ancient  time  down  to  the  present,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
select  one  better  than  another  by  way  of  example.  All  of  them,  so  far 
as  I  know,  display  the  same  noble  benevolence. 

Archduke  Rudolph  IV.  of  Austria,  in  his  charterf  to  the  University 
of  Vienna,  founded  by  him  in  1365,  declares,  "that  as  God  has  placed 

*  As,  Albertina,  Julia,  Ruperta,  &c.  Sometimes  a  university  has  a  double  name:  for  th« 
founder  and  for  a  restorer  or  some  important  benefactor.  Thus,  the  University  of  Erlangen  ii 
named  Frederico-Alexandrina,  from  the  first  founder,  Margrave  Frederic,  and  the  restorer,  Mar 
grave  Frederic  Alexander. 

t  Schlikenrieder,  10. 


12  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

him  in  authority  over  important  territories,  he  owes  thanks  to  him, 
and  all  benefits  to  his  people.  A  profound  obligation,  therefore,  rests 
upon  him,  to  make  such  ordinances  in  the  territory  under  his  govern- 
ment, as  shall  cause  the  grace  of  the  Creator  to  be  praised,  the  true 
faith  to  be  spread  abroad,  the  simple  instructed,  the  justice  of  the  law 
maintained,  the  human  understanding  enlightened,  the  public  good 
promoted,  and  the  hearts  of  men  prepared  to  be  illuminated  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  And  if  the  darkness  of  ignorance  and  of  error  were  dis- 
pelled, then  would  men,  applying  themselves  to  divine  wisdom,  which 
enters  into  no  wicked  soul,  bring  forth  from  their  treasuries  things  new 
and  old,  and  bear  much  fruit  on  earth.  In  order,  therefore,  to  do 
something,  though  but  a  little,  in  token  of  gratitude  to  God,  and  to 
his  honor  and  praise,  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  human  race,  he  has 
determined,  upon  ripe  consideration,  to  found  in  his  city  of  Vienna  a 
university  (stuJium  generale)?  In  this  university,  continues  the  de- 
cree, shall  be  read,  taught,  and  studied,  that  sacred  science  which  we 
call  theology,  the  natural,  moral,  and  polite  arts  and  sciences,  canon 
and  civil  law,  medicine,  and  other  approved  studies. 

Similar  terms  are  used  by  Rudolph's  brother  in  the  charter  which 
he  granted  to  the  University  of  Vienna  in  1387.*  It  is  his  sense  of 
Christian  obligation  that  causes  him,  in  return  for  the  princely  station 
intrusted  to  him  by  God,  to  thank  the  Giver,  and  to  exercise  conscien- 
tious care  for  the  temporal  and  eternal  good  of  his  subjects ;  and  the 
university  lies  near  his  heart,  because  these  good  objects  will  be  pro- 
moted by  it. 

Duke  Ludwig  of  Bavaria  expresses  similar  sentiments  in  the  charter 
of  foundation  of  the  University  of  Ingolstadt,  granted  by  him  in  the 
year  1472.f  Among  the  blessings,  he  says,  which  the  grace  of  God 
permits  to  men  in  this  transitory  world,  learning  is  of  the  first. 
For  by  it  the  way  to  a  good  and  holy  life  is  taught,  the  human  reason 
enlightened  in  right  knowledge,  and  trained  to  good  habits  and  morals, 
the  Christian  faith  promoted,  and  justice  and  the  common  good  estab- 
lished. "And  as,"  he  continues,  "we  are  mindful  that  the  divine 
mercy  has  for  a  long  time  maintained  our  predecessors  and  ourselves 
in  princely  honor  and  glory,  and  has  in  a  sensible  manner  guided  our 
people  and  our  kingdom,  we  recognize  it  as  our  duty  to  give  thanks 
for  this  goodness,  and  to  exert  our  earnest  and  assiduous  industry  that 
learning  shall  be  instilled  into  men's  minds,  that  their  senses  and  reason 
may  be  enlightened,  the  Christian  faith  extended,  and  justice,  good 
morals,  and  good  conduct  promoted.     And,  therefore,  to  the  praise  of 

*  Schlikenrieder,  93.  t  Mederer,  iv.  42. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  13 

Almighty  God,  the  strengthening  of  Christendom,  the  good  of  all  be- 
lieving men,  the  common  profit,  and  the  promotion  of  justice,  we  have 
founded  a  university  in  our  city  of  Ingolstadt." 

Five  years  later,  in  the  charter  of  foundation  of  the  University  of 
Tubingen,  in  1477,  Count  Eberhard*  says  that  "he  has  often  had  it 
under  consideration  how  he  might  best  set  about  undertaking  some 
enterprise  well  pleasing  to  the  Creator,  and  useful  for  the  common 
good  and  for  his  own  subjects.  He  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that 
he  could  begin  nothing  better  and  more  pleasing  to  the  eternal  God, 
than  to  prepare  means  for  the  instruction  of  good  and  well-intentioned 
youths  in  the  liberal  arts,  and  in  learning,  so  that  they  may  be  enabled 
to  recognize,  fear,  and  obey  God.  In  this  good  belief,  he  has  deter- 
mined to  found  a  school  for  human  and  divine  learning." 

Many  like  examples  of  the  God-fearing  spirit  of  the  German  princes, 
temporal  and  spiritual,  could  be  adduced,  testifying  to  their  pure  and 
noble  objects  in  founding  universities.  In  reading  these  testimonies, 
the  belief  is  necessary,  that  God's  blessing  must  rest  upon  institutions 
so  evidently  founded  for  his  glory  and  the  benefit  of  men. 

And  that  these  pious  expressions  were  not  mere  empty  or  hypo- 
critical ones,  not  corresponding  with  the  truth,  appears  from  the  many 
proofs  of  real  love  which  the  princes  have  bestowed  on  the  universities, 
as  well  at  their  first  foundation  as  in  succeeding  times ;  such  as  gifts, 
immunities,  protections,  honors,  &c.f 

As  peace  and  quiet  are  necessary  to  students,  Duke  Rudolph  of 
Austria  gave  to  the  University  of  Vienna  a  large  and  retired  tract 
of  land,  with  all  its  houses,  gardens,  &c.  He  promised  to  all  its 
teachers  and  scholars  coming  thither,  and  to  their  servants  and  goods, 
his  safe  conduct,  which  they  were  to  obtain  from  the  authorities  when- 
ever they  should  enter  his  territories;  and  the  same  promise  was 
made  for  their  return.  If  they  suffer  any  damage,  it  is  to  be  made 
good  to  them.  Neither  are  they  to  pay  any  toll  for  their  property  or 
goods.J  All  the  officers  of  the  university,  even  including  the  beadles, 
he  freed  from  all  assessments  and  imposts.  To  these  prerogatives 
Rudolph  added  this :  that  members  of  the  university,  even  in  criminal 
cases,  should  be  almost  or  quite  altogether  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Rector's  Court. 

*  Kliipfel,  p.  2. 

t  It  is  not  my  design  to  give  full  accounts  of  the  endowments,  immunities,  &c,  of  single  uni- 
versities, particularly  as  Meiners,  Dieterici,  Koch,  &c,  have  written  upon  them.  I  shall  cita 
only  a  few  items  in  relation  to  them,  especially  such  as  have  most  connection  with  the  intellec- 
tual history  of  these  institutions. 

t  "  And  if  any  one  shall  presume  to  receive  any  toll  or  custom  for  passing  such  goods,  let  hire 
know  that  he  shall  incur  our  heavy  indignation." 


14  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

The  endowments  of  the  different  universities  were  derived  not  from 
the  single  source  of  gifts  by  the  princes  who  founded  them — each 
university  has  a  financial  history  of  its  own.  The  Popes,*  in  particu- 
lar, gave  much  assistance  to  them,  by  granting  them  various  sorts  of 
income  from  the  property  of  the  Church — benefices,  tithes,  &c.  After 
the  Reformation,  the  property  of  many  convents  was  given  to  the 
universities;  and  at  the  dissolution  of  the  Society  of  Jesuits,  in  1*773, 
their  estates  were  distributed,  even  to  Catholic  universities.f 

B. THE    POPE    AND    THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

In  early  times,  when  the  German  princes  desired  to  found  a  uni- 
versity, they  commonly  made  previous  application  to  the  Pope,  to 
issue  a  bull  for  granting  the  foundation  and  its  privileges.  Thus, 
Clement  VI.,  in  1347,  issued,  a  bull  for  founding  the  University  of 
Prague;  Urban  V.,  in  1365,  for  that  of  Vienna;  Alexander  V.,  in 
1409,  for  that  of  Leipzig;  Pius  II.,  in  1459,  for  that  of  Ingolstadt. 
In  like  manner,  in  1389,  Urban  VI.  granted  to  the  city  of  Erfurt 
permission  to  found  a  university. 

The  contents  of  these  bulls  were  in  substance  always  the  same. 
The  Pope,  as  head  of  all  the  faithful,  declared  it  his  duty  to  do  all  in 
his  power  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  learning,  by  which  the  glory 
of  God  is  spread  abroad,  and  the  true  faith,  law  and  justice,  and 
human  happiness,  are  promoted.  Therefore  he  willingly  authorizes 
the  foundation  of  a  university  (studium  generate),  as  prayed  for,  and 
grants  it  all  the  privileges  of  universities  already  existing,  which  are 
commonly  cited  by  name.  In  particular,  he  grants  to  the  four  facul- 
ties the  right  to  teach,  and  to  promote  the  scholars,  according  to  rule, 
by  gradations,  to  be  bachelors,  licentiates,  and  masters ;  and  he  author- 
izes those  so  promoted  to  teach  everywhere.  It  was  this  permission 
especially,  which,  according  to  the  early  doctrine,  the  Pope  only  could 
grant,  as  standing  at  the  head  of  all  Christendom.  From  this  circum- 
stance also,  it  may  be,  the  name  studium  generate  is  derived ;  not 
from  the  fact  that  the  institution  includes  all  four  of  the  faculties,  but 
because  the  graduates  of  a  university  founded  by  the  Pope,  were  rec- 
ognized as  such  by  all  the  Christiau  universities  of  Europe,  and  so 
had  the  privilege  of  teaching  everywhere.^ 

*  See  Meiners,  History  of  Universities,  &c,  2,  8,  Ac. 

t  That  of  Prague,  for  instance.    Tomek,  History  of  the  University  of  Prague,  340. 

*  Urban  V..  in  his  hull  of  1365,  constituted  the  University  of  Vienna  of  three  faculties,  but 
without  a  theological  one.  This  omission  was  supplied  by  Urban  VI.,  by  his  bull  of  18S4,  in 
which  he  granted  tha  request  of  Duke  Albert :"  We  have  deigned,  out  of  our  apostolical  be- 
nignity, to  grant  that  In  the  same  university  lectures  on  sacred  theology  may  be  publicly  read, 
ind  that  the  honor*  ami  degree*  of  bachelor,  licentiate,  and  master,  in  the  said  theology,  may 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  15 

The  bull  usually  complimented  the  city  in  which  the  university 
was  to  be  established.  Thus.  Iogolstadt  is  praised  for  its  pure  air,  and 
its  abundance  of  the  necessaries  of  life ;  and  it  is  observed  that  there 
is  no  other  university  within  a  circuit  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  Italian 
miles.  Frankfurt,  in  like  manuer,  is  praised  for  its  healthy  air,  its 
wealth  in  the  means  of  life,  and  its  abundance  of  proper  lodgings  for 
students ;  and  Leipzig,  not  only  for  the  productiveness  of  its  vicinity 
and  its  favorable  climate,  but  because  the  citizens  are  polite  and  of  good 
morals.* 

The  Pope's  bull  designated  some  high  ecclesiastic  as  chancellor  of 
the  university,  one  of  whose  duties  was  to  be,  to  see  that  degrees  were 
orderly  conferred.  At  Prague,  for  instance,  the  Archbishop  of  Prague 
was  made  chancellor ;  at  Vienna,  the  Provost  of  the  Church  of  All 
Saints ;  at  Frankfurt,  the  Bishop  of  Leubus,  &c.f 

C. THE    EMPERORS    AND    THE    UNIVERSITIES. 

According  to  what  has  been  said,  the  Pope's  bull  sufficed  to  give 
the  university  standing  and  currency  in  the  religious  world ;  but  the 
inquiry  remains,  whether  they  did  not  need  a  grant  of  privileges  also 
from  the  emperor,  who  was  also  King  of  Rome  ?  Charles  IV.  author- 
ized, as  King  of  Rome,  the  charter  of  foundation  which  he  had  given 
to  the  University  of  Prague  the  year  before  (1348),  as  King  of  Bo- 
hemia ;J  but  no  imperial  grant  is  mentioned  as  having  accompanied 
the  Papal  one  at  the  foundation  of  those  of  Vienna,  Heidelberg, 
Cologne,  Erfurt,  Leipzig,  and  Ingolstadt.§ 

It  was  only  from  the  time  of  Maximilian  I.  that  the  emperors 
seem  to  have  treated  the  founding  and  assistance  of  universities  as  an 
official  privilege  of  their  own,  which  they  were  bound  in  conscience  to 
assume.     That  emperor,  in  1495,  at  the  Diet  of  Worms,  even  made 

be  conferred  in  order  as  is  accustomed  to  be  done  in  the  universities  of  Bologna  or  Paris,  or 
Cambridge  or  Oxford.  .  .  .  And  we  have  further  ordained  that,  in  the  said  town  there  shall 
be  a  university  {studium  generale)  in  theology."  The  theological  teachers  are  to  possess  the 
same  privileges  as  in  Bologna  and  Paris;  especially  that  of  orderly  creating  bachelors,  licentiates, 
and  masters;  who  being  so  promoted,  shall  thereafter,  "without  any  other  examination  or  ap- 
probation, have  full  and  free  authority  to  govern  and  to  teach,  as  well  in  the  aforesaid  town  as 
in  any  other  universities  whatever,  in  which  they  may  choose." 

*  Gretschol.    The  University  of  Leipzig,  p.  18. 

t  As  an  example  of  the  bulls  for  founding  universities,  I  have  inserted  (Appendix  I.)  the  bull 
of  Pius  II.,  of  1459,  for  the  foundation  of  the  University  of  Ingolstadt,  already  mentioned.  The 
oath  contained  in  it  to  be  taken  by  each  scholar,  of  faithfulness  and  obedience  to  the  Pope,  is 
worthy  of  attention.  %  Tomek,  4. 

§  I  found  no  imperial  grant  for  Vienna  in  Schlikenrieder's  Chronologia  Diplomatica.  May 
the  reason  have  been  Duke  Kudolph's  enmity  to  his  father-in-law,  Charles  IV.  ?  But  Mederer'a 
very  full  Annates  give  no  imperial  charter  for  Ingolstadt ;  and  as  to  Leipzig,  Gretschel  remarks 
(p.  18)  that  this  university  never  received  any  imperial  confirmation.  Neither  does  Motsch- 
mann  give  any  for  Erfurt. 


16  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

the  proposition  that  each  elector  should  found  a  university  in  his  own 
territories ;  which  proposal  may,  perhaps,  have  occasioned  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  universities  of  Wittenberg  and  Frankfurt. 

All  those  universities  founded  after  Maximilian's  time,  down  to  the 
end  of  the  German  Empire,  were  required  to  have  an  imperial  grant ; 
as  Halle,  in  1693,  Gottingen,  in  1*737.  The  last  Protestant  university 
founded  by  the  emperor,  was  Erlangen,  in  1743.  But  what  was  the 
relation  between  the  imperial  and  papal  grants  ?  Did  the  emperor 
define  the  temporal,  and  the  Pope  the  spiritual,  privileges  of  the  insti- 
tution, and  was  the  Pope's  authorization  required  before  that  of  the 
emperor  ?     These  questions  would  be  difficult  to  answer. 

The  Emperor  Maximilian,  in  1502,  granted  a  charter  for  founding 
the  University  of  Wittenberg.  In  this  he  declares  himself  bound,  as 
emperor,  to  care  for  the  promotion  of  learning  in  his  realm.  He 
grants  the  request  of  the  Elector  Frederick,  for  the  foundation  of  a 
university*  at  Wittenberg,  and  the  appointment  of  teachers  in  the 
four  faculties.  He  grants  further,  the  power  of  creating,  after  a  fair 
and  strict  examination,  bachelors,  masters,  licentiates,  and  doctors  in 
all  the  faculties ;  who  may  thereafter  possess  all  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges which  the  doctors  of  the  universities  of  Bologna,  Paris,  and 
Leipzig  possess,  in  all  places  and  countries  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and 
in  all  other  places.f  And  he  also  grants  to  the  university  the  privi- 
lege of  making  its  own  statutes  and  choosing  its  own  rector. 

This  imperial  grant  was  recognized  by  Cardinal  Raymundus,  and, 
at  the  request  of  the  elector,  authorized ;  the  latter  hoping,  says  the 
cardinal,  that  the  university  will  truly  prosper,  having,  besides  the 
imperial  foundation,  the  light  of  the  apostolical  splendor.  Thus  the 
Pope,  in  this  case,  assumes  a  place  subordinate  to  the  emperor,  and 
the  latter  grants  privileges  before  only  proceeding  from  the  former. 
A  doubt,  however,  remained,  although  the  cardinal  had  confirmed  the 
establishment  by  Maximilian  of  the  four  faculties,  whether  valid  de- 
grees could  be  given  in  theology  and  canon  law  without  special 
authority  from  the  Pope;  for  which  reason  he  expressly  adds  this 
authority  supplementary. 

Maximilian  L,  in  the  year  1500,  granted  a  charter  for  the  founda- 
tion of  the  University  of  Frankfurt,  which  corresponds  in  substance 
with  that  of  Wittenberg,  and  which,  like  it,  makes  no  mention  of  a 
papal  bull.     Pope  Julius  II.  issued  such  a  bull  in  the  year  1506,  and 

*  "  Studium  generate  aire  universitalem  aut  gymnasium." 

t  "In  omnibu*  locis  et  terris  R.  Imperii  et  ubique  tei'rarum?  And  in  the  imperial  char- 
ier to  the  University  of  Frankfurt  it  is  provided  that  those  having  degrees,  "  shall  have  license 
in  whatever  other  universities,  without  further  examination,  to  read,  teach,  and  do  all  other 
things  which  the  masters  and  doctors  of  any  other  universities  may  do." — Becmann,  10. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  17 

confirmed  it  by  another  the  next  year ;  and  in  both  of  these,  he  in  his 
turn  makes  no  reference  whatever  to  the  imperial  charter,  and  pro- 
vides for  every  thing  as  if  no  such  thing  existed.* 

While  the  subsequnt  founders  of  Protestant  universities  (of  which 
Marburg  was  the  earliest)  naturally  did  not  apply  for  papal  bulls,  still 
the  Catholic  emperors  from  time  to  time  made  grants  to  such  univer- 
sities. Thus,  Charles  V.  did  so  in  1541,  for  Marburg;  Ferdinand  I., 
in  1557,  for  Jena;  Maximilian  II.,  in  1575,  for  Helmstadt;  Ferdinand 
II.,  in  1620,  for  Rinteln;  Leopold  I.,  in  1693,  for  Halle;  Charles  VI, 
in  1737,  for  Gottingen;  and  Charles  VII.,  in  1743,  for  Erlangen. 

These  grants  were  all  similar  in  substance  and  in  part  word  for  word. 
But  in  the  later  ones,  the  rector  or  pro-rector,  for  the  time  being,  of 
the  university,  at  Erlangen  the  pro-chancellor,  is  granted  the  count- 
ship  of  the  Holy  Lateran  Palace,  and  of  the  Court  of  Caesar  (count 
palatineship).f  As  such  count  palatine  (pfalzgraf ),  he  possessed  singu- 
lar privileges, — might  appoint  notaries ;  might  appoint  and  displace 
guardians  and  curators ;  restore  their  honor  to  the  infamous ;  legiti- 
mate illegitimate  children  of  all  kinds,];  and  create  poets-laureate. 
These  latter  might  freely  read,  write,  and  dispute  upon  the  art 
(scientia)  of  poetry,  in  all  countries  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  every- 
where ;  and  in  all  places  might  enjoy  the  privileges,  honors,  &c,  of 
poets-laureate.§ 

One  circumstance  relating  to  the  University  of  Konigsberg  deserves 
special  notice.  Although  Margrave  Albeit,  in  1544,  granted  it  a 
charter  of  foundation  wholly  Protestant  in  character,  yet  he,  together 
with  Sabinus,  first  rector  of  the  university,  applied  to  Cardinal  Bembo, 

*  Whole  portions  are  transferred  word  for  word  from  the  imperial  charter  to  the  papal  bulls. 
An  expression  in  the  second  bull  seems  to  explain  the  matter.  Julius  II.  mentions  that  his 
predecessor,  Alexander  VI.,  had  already  in  the  sixth  year  of  his  pontificate  (1498),  granted  per- 
mission to  the  Elector  John  to  found  a  university ;  which  was  two  years  before  Maximilian's 
charter.  The  latter,  it  would  seem,  referred  to  the  papal  grant  only  in  this,  that  he  appointed 
as  chancellor  the  Bishop  of  Leubus,  whom  Alexander  VI.  had  probably  designated  for  that 
office,  and  whom  Julius  definitely  appoints,  without  any  reference  to  the  imperial  charter.  For 
a  specimen  of  the  imperial  charters,  see  Appendix  II. 

t  So  the  protector  at  Halle  and  Gottingen.  Ferdinand  II.,  in  1623,  granted  the  count  palatine- 
ship  to  the  faculty  of  jurisprudence  in  Ingoldstadt  This  university,  he  says,  "is  the  palaestra 
where  we  remember  with  kindly  affection  that  our  own  youth  was  educated."  For  further  in- 
formation on  this  countship,  see  Dufresne,  sub  voc,  Comes  palatinws  and  Comitiva. 

%  The  charter  to  Halle  (Koch,  i.,  458),  and  that  to  Gottingen  (Gesner,  6),  enumerate  unatu- 
rales,  baslardi,  spurii,  manseres,  nothi,  incestuosi."" 

§  Hedwig  Zaunemannin,  of  Erfurt,  composed  a  poem  for  the  dedication  of  the  University  of 
Gottingen,  ending  with  the  lines: 

"  Long  may  live  this  Muse's  home; 
And  prosperous  it  shall  remain, 
Until  the  universe  shall  fall  with  crash  and  flame." 
And  upon  this  it  is  remarked—"  This  most  noble  virgin,  for  this  and  other  most  elaborate  monu- 
ments of  her  talents,  deserved  to  receive  the  poetic  laurel  from  the  university." 
No.  16.— [Vol.  VI.,  No  1.]— 2         2 


18  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

with  the  request  that  the  Pope,  for  the  certification  of  the  university, 
would  issue  a  bull  granting  it  the  right  of  conferring  degrees  in  course. 
Bembo  answered  that  the  Pope  would  do  so  as  soon  as  a  copy  of  the 
imperial  confirmation  should  be  laid  before  him ;  as  Konigsberg  was 
under  the  emperor's  protection,  if  not  actually  under  his  authority. 
As  the  emperor,  however,  granted  no  confirmation,  no  bull  was 
issued,  and  Albert  found  himself  under  the  necessity  of  applying  to 
King  Sigismund,  of  Poland,  for  a  confirmation.  He  accordingly 
issued  one,  in  1556,  giving  the  university  all  and  every  the  academ- 
ical privileges, — jurisdiction,  right  of  making  its  own  statutes,  right  of 
conferring  degrees  in  course,  &c. ;  and  all  the  privileges  possessed 
by  his  own  University  of  Cracow.* 

D. ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    FIRST    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

A.    Four  Nations. — Four  Faculties. — Hector. —  Chancellor. —  University 

Endowments. 

The  charter  of  foundation  and  the  imperial  and  papal  grants  of 
privilege  having  been  issued,  the  university  could  now  come  into 
active  life.  The  founder  first  invited  teachers,  who  in  turn  gathered 
scholars  about  them.  Teachers  and  students  both,  in  Prague,  Vienna, 
Heidelberg,  and  Leipzig,  after  the  manner  of  the  University  of  Paris, 
were  divided  into  four  nations,  and  each  nation  appointed  a  master  of 
arts  to  stand  at  its  head  as  procurator. 

This  division  into  four  nations  was  laid  down  by  Duke  Rudolph  in 
his  charter  of  foundation  to  the  University  of  Vienna  in  J365  ;f  but 
was  more  clearly  defined  by  the  university  itself  in  1366,  and,  as  is 
expressly  declared,  upon  the  model  of  Paris.J  The  first  nation,  de- 
nominated the  Southern  (Australis),  was  chiefly  composed  of  Southern 
Germany ;  the  second,  the  Saxon,  chiefly  Western  and  Northern  Ger- 
many; the  third  was  the  Bohemian,  and  the  fourth  the  Hungarian. 
This  division  was  modified  by  Duke  Albrecht  in  his  charter  of  1384,  so 
as  to  call  the  first  nation,  the  Austrian  ;  the  second,  the  Rhenish,  in- 
cluding Bavaria,  Suabia,  Alsace,  Franconia,  and  Hesse  ;  the  third,  the 
Hungarian,  including  also  Bohemia,  Moravia,  and  Poland ;  and  the 
fourth  included  Saxony,  Westphalia,  Prussia,  <fec. 

At  Prague,  great  importance  was  found  to  attach  to  the  division 


*  Arnoldt,  5S,  &c. ;  and  Appendix  XI. 

t  Schlikenrieder,  27.  "  We  ordain  that  all  the  clerks  (clemm)  of  the  university  shall  be  di- 
vided into  four  parts,  of  which  each  shall  include  masters  and  students  from  fixed  and  ascertained 
countries,  constituting  one  nation  according  to  the  characters  and  circumstances  of  each." 

+  "  We,  considering  that  the  venerable  University  of  Paris  is,  by  reason  of  its  experience, 
under  better  regulations  than  others,  have  thought  proper  to  divide  our  own  university  into  four 
nations,  as  that  is  divided,  after  its  model,  although  under  different  names." 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  19 

into  the  four  nations*  of  Bohemia,  Bavaria,  Poland,  and  Saxony.  The 
Bohemian  included  also  part  of  Silesia,  and  Moravia  and  Hungary. 
As  the  Polish  nation  included  Prussia,  Lusatia,  Thuringia,  and  other 
German  countries,  the  Bohemian  nation  differed  from  all  the  other 
three,  which  were  almost  exclusively  German.  Thus  it  naturally  hap- 
pened that  the  Germans  often  outvoted  the  Bohemians  on  university 
questions.  The  latter,  irritated  at  this,  petitioned  the  Emperor  Wen- 
ceslaus  in  1409,  with  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague  at  their  head,  to 
decree  that  thenceforward  the  Bohemian  nation  should  have  three 
voices  and  the  three  other  nations  only  one.  This  was  the  reason  why 
five  thousand  teachers  and  students  left  Prague,  and  why  that  univer- 
sity, instead  of  being  a  universal  German  one,  was  afterward  exclu- 
sively Bohemian.  The  seceders  went  mostly  to  Leipzig,  and  caused 
the  establishment  of  the  university  there,  to  which  they  also  transferred 
the  division  into  four  nations.  This  division  was  only  disused  in 
1830,f  although  it  had  long  lost  its  place  in  the  other  old  universities, 
and  had  very  seldom  been  introduced  into  those  founded  later  than 
Leipzig.! 

In  Paris,  besides  the  division  into  four  nations,  there  was  a  second, 
altogether  distinct  from  it,  into  four  faculties,  which  also  found  its  way 
into  the  German  universities.  The  members  of  newly  founded  univer- 
sities, thus  divided  into  nations  and  faculties,  needed  first  of  all  to 
choose  a  rector  as  their  general  head.  At  Vienna,  Duke  Rudolph's 
charter  of  foundation  directed,  still  after  the  model  of  Paris,  that  the 
four  procurators  of  nations  should  be  the  electors,  and  that  the  ap- 
pointee must  belong  to  the  faculty  of  arts  (the  philosophical). §  But 
nineteen  years  afterward,  in  1384,  Duke  Albrecht's  charter  allowed 
the  rector  to  be  chosen  from  either  of  the  four  faculties.!  The  elec- 
tion was  made  in  like  manner  at  Heidelberg.  The  first  rector,  Marsi- 
lius  von  Inghen,  was  here  chosen,  in  1386,  after  the  Paris  plan,  from 
the  faculty  of  arts.  But  as  early  as  1393,  Konrad  von  Soltow,  a  doctor 
of  theology,  was  chosen  rector.^" 


*  Tomek,  9, 10.  t  Gretschel,  2S8. 

%  At  Frankfort,  there  were  four  nations,  called  Marchcia,  Franconia,  Silesiaca,  and  Prutenica. 
But  afterward,  only  tlie  distinction  into  four  faculties  was  preserved. 

§  Schlikenrieder,  27. 

8  Schlikenrieder,  96.  "The  four  procurators  of  the  university  must  elect  a  rector,  who  shall 
seem  to  them  fit  for  that  office,  a  professor  either  in  arts  or  in  some  other  faculty."  The  Vienna 
statutes  of  1334,  prescribe  that  the  electing  procurators  shall  swear,  before  electing,  "  that  they 
will  not  undervalue  any  faculty,  nor  prefer  it  to  another,  but  will  elect  a  fit  person,  to  whatever 
faculty  he  may  belong,  so  ordering  that  the  rectorate  shall  not  always  remain  in  one  faculty." 
Impartiality  as  to  the  faculties  was  promoted  by  the  statutory  regulation  that  the  four  procura- 
tors should  not  always  belong  to  one  faculty,  but  to  several,     lb.  127. 

«[  Schwab,  4,  12. 


20  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

Down  to  the  present  time,  the  rector  may  be  chosen  from  any  fac- 
ulty ;  and  an  alternation  is  usually  had  among  them  all. 

The  electors  must  be  "  actual  teachers,  or  men  recognized  as  fit  for 
teachers."*  In  Erfurt  alone,  one  student,  selected  from  the  philoso- 
phical faculty,  took  part  in  the  election. f 

The  rector  was  the  head  of  every  university  department,  of  manage- 
ment, instruction,  and  discipline ;  but  was  bound  to  govern  himself  by 
the  statutes.  About  him  was  placed  a  senate,  which  varied  extremely 
in  composition  and  authority  at  different  times  and  in  different  univer- 
sities. Although,  for  example,  at  Prague,  a  "  university  congregation," 
of  masters  and  students  together,  was  erected,  which  met  twice  a  year, 
and  a  special  "  university  council"  besides  it,  this  general  congregation 
soon  fell  into  the  background,  and  there  remained  only  a  congregation 
of  masters,  scholars  being  excluded.^  The  Vienna  statutes  admitted 
bachelors  and  those  who  actually  read  lectures  (actu  legentes)  to  the 
"  general  congregation,"  but  adds,  that  this  is  to  be  the  regulation  only 
until  there  shall  be  doctors  and  masters  enough,  as  in  Paris,  to  fill  the 
congregation. §  The  chancellor,  as  we  have  seen,  was  usually  appoint- 
ed by  the  Pope,  and  in  general  was  a  high  ecclesiastic,!  whose  es- 
pecial duty  it  was  to  observe  that  the  degree  of  master  and  licentiate 
were  properly  conferred,  and  he  must  himself  confer  the  degree  of 
licentiate  (licentia  docendi).*^ 

At  the  head  of  each  faculty  stood  a  dean,  who  was  chosen  from  the 
masters  who  actually  read  lectures  ;  and  these  masters  formed  the 
council  of  the  faculty. 

The  endowments  of  the  universities  began,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
with  the  gifts  of  the  princes  who  founded  them,  and  with  the  ecclesias- 
tical properties  and  incomes  granted  them  by  the  Popes.  They  were 
augmented  by  other  gifts,  especially  by  private  legacies;  Heidelberg, 
in  1391,  received  a  grant  of  Jews'  goods.**  At  the  Reformation,  the 
estates  of  dissolved  convents,  and  afterward,  in  1773,  those  of  the  dis- 

*  Meiners,  History,  ii.  172.  t  Motschraann,  i.  323. 

X  Toinek,  12.  §  Schlikenrieder,  181. 

I  At  Vienna  the  Chancellor  was  Principal  of  the  Church  of  All  Saints,  at  Prague  the  Bishop 
of  Prague,  at  Ingolstadt  the  Bishop  of  Eichstadt,  at  Leipzig  the  Bishop  of  Merseburg.  The 
chacellor,  in  conferring  the  degree  of  licentiate,  represented  the  Pope;  using  the  words,  "I,  by 
authority  ...  of  the  apostolical  see,  which  I  here  represent,  confer  upon  you  the  license  to 
read,"  «fec.  (Zeisl,  37).  In  Tubingen,  the  appointment  of  chancellor  passed  over,  after  the  Reforma- 
tion, to  the  rector  and  senate;  and  he  conferred  degrees,  not  "by  apostolical  authority,"  but 
"by  ordinary  and  public  authority." — Kliipfd,  54. 

T  For  more  information  as  to  the  degrees  of  bachelor,  licentiate,  master,  and  doctor,  see  the  de- 
scription of  the  faculties.  "  In  Prague,  there  was  no  distinction  between  a  master  and  a  doctor, 
except  that  the  degree  of  master  was  commonly  conferred  in  the  faculties  of  theology  and  arts, 
and  that  of  doctor  in  those  of  jurisprudence  and  medicine." — Tomek,  17. 

**  Hausser,  i.  800. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  21 

solved  Order  of  Jesuits,  were  given  to  the  universities.  In  most  of  the 
charters  of  foundation,  as  in  that  quoted  of  Duke  Rudolph  of  Austria, 
many  immunities  were  granted  to  members  of  the  university;  freedom 
from  imposts  and  tolls,  right  of  hunting,  right  to  retail  wine  and  beer ; 
most  of  which  have  subsequently  been  taken  away,  by  reason  of  misuse 
of  them,  quarrels  over  them  between  the  members  of  the  university 
and  the  citizens  of  the  university  town,  and  great  changes  in  Church 
and  State. 

Among  the  university  endowments  belong,  as  pecuniary  aids  to 
study,  bursaries,  free  tables,  stipends,  &c,  which  will  be  afterward  con- 
sidered.* 

B.     The  Four  Faculties. 

We  shall  proceed  to  consider  the  organization  for  instruction,  and 
the  discipline  of  the  older  universities. 

We  have  seen  that  the  division  into  four  faculties  was  transferred 
from  the  University  of  Paris  to  those  of  Germany.  These  faculties  are 
the  same  which  our  universities  now  include, — of  theology,  law,  medi- 
cine and  philosophy ;  which  last  was  anciently  termed  the  faculty  of 
arts.     We  shall  speak  first  of  this  latter. 

1.     Faculty  of  Arte. 
This  derived  its  name  from  the   seven    liberal  arts ;   namely,  the 
Trivium,  including  grammar,  rhetoric,  and  dialectics ;  and  the  Quad- 
rivium,  including  arithmetic,  music,  geometry,  and  astronomy.     These 
seven  were  commemorated  in  the  following  memorial  verse  : 

"Lingua,  tropus,  ratio,  numerus,  tenor,  angulus,  astra." 

In  the  title  "  Master  of  the  liberal  arts,"  these  seven  are  referred  to. 
The  relation  of  this  faculty  to  the  three  others  was  very  different  at 
different  universities  and  different  times.  At  Paris,  the  rector  was 
chosen  from  this  faculty  by  the  masters  in  it ;  and  the  rule  was  the 
same,  at  first,  at  Heidelberg  and  Vienna,  as  we  have  seen,  after  the 
Paris  model.  The  situation  of  this  faculty  was  very  different  at  Tu- 
bingen, where  it  was  subordinate  to  the  three  other  faculties,  only  its 
dean  and  two  other  members  belonged  to  the  senate,  and  its  professors 
received  smaller  salaries  than  those  of  the  other  faculties.! 

These  seven  liberal  arts  were  the  subjects  of  instruction  in  the  facul- 
ty of  arts,  and  they  included  many  subordinate  subjects,  as  did,  espe- 
cially, dialectics.  We  have  programmes  of  lectures  from  various 
universities,  as  Prague,  Vienna,  Ingolstadt,  Erfurt,  which   all  agree 

*  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  various  pecuniary  helps  furnished  in  later  times,  mainly  by  the 
growth  of  medicine  and  the  natural  sciences.  t  KlUpfel,  7,  56. 


22  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

substantially  on  this  point.  The  dialectic,  ethical,  physical,  and  other 
works  of  Aristotle,  in  such  translations  as  were  then  extant,  are  every- 
where the  principal  theme.*  Together  with  these  are  found  a  few 
other  books,  as  for  instance  those  of  Petrus  Hispanus  and  Boethius, 
which,  like  Aristotle's,  were  included  under  the  comprehensive  term, 
dialectics. 

In  grammar  were  given  lectures  on  Priscianus,  Donatus,  the  Doctri- 
nale  of  Alexander  de  Villa  Dei,  and  the  Grcecismus  of  Eberhard  von 
Bethune,  which  is  a  grammar  in  metrical  Latin,  in  which  Greek  tech- 
nical terms  are  explained ;  upon  the  same  author's  Labyrinthus,  which 
treats  of  the  difficulties  of  schoolmasters ;  and  upon  the  Poetria  Nova 
of  the  Englishman  Gottfrid,  which  treats  of  the  duties  of  masters.f 

To  the  course  of  lectures  on  the  four  arts  of  the  Quadrivium  be- 
longed those : 

1.  On  the  Algorism  (Arithmetic).]; 

2.  On  the  work  of  Johannes  de  Muris,  of  Paris  (1330),  on  Music. 

3.  On  six  books  of  Euclid  and  the  Perspective^  of  Johannes  Pisanus 
(Geometry). 

4.  On  the  Sphcera  MateriaUs  of  Johannes  de  Sacro  Bosco,||  the 
Computus  Cyrometricalis*^  the  Almanac,  and  the  Almagest  of  Ptole- 
my (Astronomy). 

Masters,  licentiates,  and  bachelors  were  permitted  to  read  lectures. 
The  scolaris  simplex,  the  student,  was  at  Vienna  prohibited  from  read- 
ing; but  at  Prague,  the  statutes  permitted  a  student  to  deliver  lectures 
put  into  his  hands  on  behalf  of  a  master,  who  had  previously  revised 
them.  Reading  was  termed  pronouncing  (pronuntiare).**  The 
statutes  of  the  University  of  Vienna  say  :  "  We  direct  each  reader  to 
pronounce  faithfully  and  correctly,  slowly  and  distinctly,  distinguishing 
paragraphs,  capital  letters,  commas,  and  periods,  as  the  sense  requires, 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  assist  those  who  write  after  him  ;  and  that 
he  do  not  pronounce  any  thing  erroneous  by  deceit  or  fraud." 

*  See  Appendix  II.  for  the  programmes  of  lectures  of  the  faculties  of  arts  at  Prague,  Erfurt, 
Ingolstadt,  and  Vienna. 

t  Monumenta  Universitatis  Pragensis,  1,  2,  560. 

%  Algorism  or  Algorithm  (see  Monum.  Univ.  Prag.,  1,  2,  550),  is  composed  of  the  Arabic  al, 
and  the  Greek  arithmos.  According  to  Renaud's  Memoirs  Geographique  sur  VInde  (1849), 
the  word  signifies  the  Arabian  author  Al-Kharizmy,  whose  works,  translated  into  Latin,  spread 
the  knowledge  of  the  Indian  system  of  numeration  in  the  West:  which  system  was  then  named 
after  this  author.  My  respected  friend  and  colleague,  Prof.  Spiegel,  drew  my  attention  to 
Eenaud. 

§  This  Perspective  (a  work  on  optics)  is  of  the  year  1280. 

|  For  Euclid  and  Sacro  Bosco  or  Busto,  see  this  work,  Part  1,  6,  7,  317,  326. 

^  For  cyrometricalis,  read  chirometricalis,  the  art  of  finding  the  dates  of  the  calendar  by 
means  of  the  fingers. 

**  Monum.  Univ.  Prag.,  1, 1, 13 ;  and  Zeisl,  146. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  23 

This  extract  is  explained  by  another  from  the  statutes  of  Prague  of 
1367.  The  masters,  it  is  here  said,  have  brought  it  into  consideration, 
that  the  readers  have  permitted  themselves  to  be  guilty  of  many  irreg- 
ularities, disfigurements,  and  errors,  from  which  much  harm  may  come 
to  the  students,  and  much  scandal  to  the  whole  faculty.  Every  scolaris 
has  read  what  he  chose  and  when  he  chose.  Men  have  boldly  com- 
mitted to  writing  incorrect  and  unknown  compositions,  full  of  errors, 
and  given  them  out  as  the  works  of  eminent  masters,  to  attract  more 
hearers.  Hereupon  the  faculty  decreed  that  in  future  every  master 
should  read,  either  himself  or  by  another,  his  own  comments  upon 
such  work  as  should  be  selected  from  among  the  text-books  by  the 
faculty ;  and  in  like  manner  might  read  or  cause  to  be  read  by  an- 
other the  writings  of  others,  provided  these  were  composed  by  emi- 
nent masters  of  the  universities  of  Prague,  Paris,  or  Oxford,  and  pro- 
vided he  have  previously  carefully  revised  them,  and  have  secured  a 
fit  and  skillful  reader  (pronunciator). 

The  bachelors,  it  was  ordained  further,  should  not  read  their  own 
comments  on  Aristotle  and  other  difficult  works,  but  those  of  masters 
from  Paris,  Prague,  and  Oxford ;  but  these  must  first  be  examined  by  a 
master,  to  see  whether  they  are  in  reality  the  composition  of  such  au- 
thor, and  correct. 

No  student  shall  presume  to  deliver  lectures,  unless  he  be  author- 
ized by  a  master. 

According  to  these  extracts,  the  teaching  consisted  in  dictating  the 
matter  of  the  regular  text-books,  and  in  the  speaker's  or  some  other 
person's  remarks  upon  them ;  and  the  notes  taken  down  served  instead 
of  printed  copies  of  the  books. 

Before  the  commencement  of  the  lectures,  the  masters  of  Prague  and 
Vienna  met  and  agreed  upon  the  books  which  each  one  should  take  to 
read  ;*  and  it  was  the  duty  of  each,  having  chosen  his  book,  to  read  it 
through  if  he  had  as  many  as  two  hearers.f 

The  permission  to  read  at  Prague  the  writings  of  Oxford  masters  had 
a  great  immediate  influence  upon  that  university,  and  also  upon  the  Ref- 
ormation in  Bohemia  and  Germany  ;  for  in  this  manner  WiclifFs  teach- 
ings were  imported  into  Prague,  and  widely  disseminated  by  Huss.J 


*  Jlonum.  Univ.  Prag.,  i.  1, 13 ;  Zeisl,  B.  4. 

t  The  masters  who  read  were  called  magistri  aetu  regentes,  and  lectores.  The  Erfurt  stat- 
utes required  them  to  read  during  three  months  of  the  year.  And  in  those  of  Prague  (Mo- 
num.,  i.  1,  81),  it  is  prescribed  that  "  none  shall  be  called  an  actual  reader  (act u  regens)  who  does 
not  read  his  ordinary  (book)  as  long  as  he  has  hearers.1'  In  Prague,  one  who  has  been  five 
years  master,  and  two  years  an  actual  reader,  became  a  member  of  the  Council  of  the  Faculty, 
whose  sittings  were  in  the  faculty-room  (stuba  facultatis). 

%  Palacky,  History  of  Bohemia,  ii.  2, 189. 


24  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

The  lectures  were  accompanied  with  frequent  disputations,  in  which 
teachers  and  scholars  took  part.  The  regular  disputation  day  was 
Saturday.  Sophismata  and  qucestiones,  after  the  fashion  of  theses, 
furnished  the  basis  for  the  disputing.  The  purpose  of  them  all  seems 
to  have  been  not  so  much  to  deal  with  the  truth  of  the  matter  as  with 
the  form  ;  they  were  dialectic  fencing  with  all  the  tricks  of  sophistry ; 
exhibitions  of  skill  in  arguing  for  and  against  the  same  proposition.* 

In  all  the  faculties  the  bachelors  were  lowest  in  grade,  the  licentiates 
next,  and  the  masters  next.  To  become  a  master  it  was  necessary,  at 
Vienna,  to  have  studied  two  years,  and  to  have  heard  lectures  in  the 
regular  books.  The  candidate  was  examined,  and  was  obliged  to  hold 
ten  disputations.  If  he  passed  this  examination,  and  received  his 
bachelor's  degree,  he  might  receive  the  licentiateship  at  the  end  of  the 
year  from  the  Chancellor,  after  a  sufficient  examination.  He  might 
now  become  master  at  his  option  by  a  formal  act  of  promotion,  unless 
he  preferred  to  remain  a  licentiate  for  the  sake  of  avoiding  the  expense 
of  the  step. 

According  to  the  statutes  of  the  Faculty  of  Arts  at  Ingolstadt,  inas- 
much as  there  was  a  distinction  between  those  students  who  followed 
the  way  of  the  ancients  (i.  e.,  who  adhered  to  the  Realists),  and  those 
who  followed  the  way  of  the  moderns,  or  Nominalists,  there  was  a 
separate  dean  and  council  for  each  "way."f  At  Heidelberg,  Nomi- 
nalism prevailed ;  its  first  rector,  Marsilius  von  Inghen,  having  been  a 
Nominalist.  In  Tubingen,  the  opposition  between  the  Nominalists  and 
Realists  ceased  only  at  the  Reformation;  Gabriel  Biel  being,  here, 
"  the  last  representative  of  the  dying  scholasticism."^ 

Lectures,  disputations,  examinations,  and  even  the  daily  conversation 
of  the  scholars  (scolares),  were  in  Latin.  The  Ingolstadt  statutes  say  : 
"A  master  in  a  bursary  shall  induce  to  the  continual  use  of  Latin  by 
verbal  exhortations  and  by  his  own  example ;  and  shall  also  appoint 
those  who  shall  mark  such  as  speak  the  vulgar  tongue,  and  who  shall 
receive  from  them  an  irremissible  penalty."  In  another  place  they 
say :  "Also,  that  the  students  in  their  academical  exercises  may  learn, 
by  the  habit  of  speaking  Latin,  to  speak  and  express  themselves 
better,  the  faculty  ordains  that  no  person  placed  by  the  faculty  upon 
a  common  or  other  bursary  shall  dare  to  speak  German.  Any  one 
heard  by  one  of  the  overseers  (conventore)  to  speak  German,  shall  pay 
one  kreutzer." 

*  In  Melancthon's  time  there  was  at  Wittenberg  a  disputation  on  one  Saturday  and  a  decla- 
mation on  the  next ;  which  indicates  that  dialectics  had  at  first  predominated,  but  that  at  the  re- 
vival of  classical  literature,  rhetoric,  under  the  influence  of  Cicero  and  Quintilian,  came  more 
into  vogue. 

t  Mederer,  iv.  70.  %  Kllipfol,  80. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  25 

The  very  Latin  of  these  quotations  exemplifies  the  Latinity  of  that 
university,  which  was  lampooned  in  the  "Epistles  of  Obscure  Men* 
Nothing  was  said  in  them  of  classical  studies. 

2.     The  Theological  Faculty. 

The  Theological  Faculty  of  the  University  of  Vienna  declares,  in 
the  beginning  of  its  statutes  of  1389,  that  the  Faculty  of  Paris  is  its 
model.  In  the  first  title  of  these  statutes  it  is  provided  that  every 
year,  upon  the  day  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  a  devout  sermon  shall 
be  preached  upon  that  "  most  profoundly  speculative  theologian,"  and 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  purity  of  conscience  shall  be  recommended 
to  the  students.  The  preacher  shall  choose  a  text  which  has  a  com- 
plete and  intelligible  meaning ;  not  an  expression  unintelligible  by  it- 
self, which  he  can  interpret  arbitrarily.* 

The  second  title  of  the  statutes  treats  seriously  and  ably  of  the 
morals  of  theological  students.  It  says  :  "As  knowledge  and  learning 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  are  to  be  attained  by  study  and  prac- 
tice in  theological  faculty,  are  the  rule  of  morals,  and  lead  to  true  pro- 
priety of  conduct,  we  consider  it  exceedingly  wrong  and  most  unseemly 
that  theological  students  should  not  be  distinguishable  from  all  others 
by  their  virtues.  The  spiritual  eye  must  be  very  clear  from  sin  in 
order  to  discern  the  lofty  themes  of  theology.  That  science  itself 
teaches  that  only  the  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God ;  and  that  wisdom 
cometh  not  into  the  sinful  soul,  nor  abides  in  a  body  under  subjection 
to  sin.  Therefore,  students  of  theology  must  show  by  their  whole 
life  that  they  belong  truly  and  really  to  the  theological  faculty ;  and  a 
religious  life  must  be  the  expression  of  their  spiritual  acquirements. 
Therefore,  students  of  theology  must  be  free  from  shameful  vices, 
serious  and  modest  in  speech,  decent,  respectably  clothed — no  drinker, 
lecher,  or  brawler — an  avoider  of  evil  companions ;  must  shun  suspicious 
places,  and  must  not  run  after  idle  amusements.  The  schools  of  the- 
ology must  be  not  merely  schools  of  science,  but  still  more,  schools  of 
virtue  and  of  good  morals." 

While  in  the  faculty  of  arts  more  than  thirty  subjects  of  instruction 
were  specified,  the  theological  statutes  name  but  two :  the  Bible,  and 
the  "Four  Books  of  Sentences'1  of  Petrus  Lombard  us,  which  were  of 
the  first  rank  as  dogmatic  authority.  The  bachelors  who  read  upon 
the  Bible  were  called  Biblical,  or  cursores,  from  their  reading  their 
regular  courses,  or  the  Bible.  They  were  to  explain  the  text  thor- 
oughly, and  to  add  good  glosses,  as  was  the  custom  in  the  cursory  lec- 
tures at  Paris. 

*  Zeisl,  8,  10. 


26  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

He  who  wished  to  become  cursor  must  have  studied  theology  six 
years,  and  if  not  master  in  arts,  must  be  well  trained  in  opposing  and 
answering.  The  qucestiones  upon  which  the  disputations  were  held  in 
the  theological  faculty,  were  to  be  intelligible  and  seriously  useful 
(rationabiles  et  seriose  utiles)  upon  practical  or  speculative  subjects, 
and  clear,  brief,  and  intelligible. 

When  the  cursor  had  finished  his  Biblical  course,  he  became  sen- 
tentiarius,  and  read  for  one  or  two  years  on  Petrus  Lombard  us'  "Four 
Books  of  Sentences?  When  he  had  come  in  his  readings  to  the  third 
book,  he  was  called  Baccalaureus  formatus.  When  he  had  arrived 
at  the  end  of  the  fourth  book,  he  had  yet  to  train  himself  at  the  uni- 
versity for  three  years  in  disputing  and  preaching,  and  in  attending 
disputations,  before  he  could  receive  the  degree  of  licentiate  or  of 
master. 

The  cursores  or  sententiarii  were  not  to  deal  with  philosophical 
topics,  which  have  no  relation  to  theology ;  but  were,  at  proper  places, 
by  logic  or  other  arts,  to  endeavor  to  solve  theological  difficulties. 

When  the  sententiarius  had  passed  his  examination  for  a  licentiate- 
ship,  the  chancellor  delivered  it  to  him,  saying  :*  "  By  authority  of 
the  Omnipotent  God,  and  of  the  Apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and  of 
the  Apostolical  See,  which  I  here  represent,  I  give  you  license  to  read, 
dispute,  and  preach  in  the  theological  faculty,  and  to  exercise  all  other 
acts  of  a  master  in  the  same  faculty,  here  and  throughout  the  world, 
in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.     Amen." 

A  few  days  after  this,  the  new  licentiate  maintained  a  disputation ; 
and  on  the  day  after  the  disputation  the  chancellor  placed  the  mas- 
ter's cap  on  his  head  in  the  hall,  as  a  token  of  the  dignity  of  master, 
and  said  :  "  Begin  now  your  teaching,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  the 
Sou,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen."  Whereupon  the  new  doctor 
(iiovellus  doctor)  began  with  an  address  in  praise  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. 

3.     Faculty  of  Canon  and  Civil  Law. 

The  statutes  of  this  faculty,  at  Vienna,  prescribe  that  before  begin- 
ning the  lectures,  a  solemn  mass  shall  be  held,  and  Sundays  and  feast 
days  strictly  observed. 

The  second  title  treats  in  earnest  language  of  the  morals  of  bachelors 
and  students  at  law.  They  are  to  conduct  themselves  in  an  orderly 
manner,  and  to  be  quiet  at  lectures ;  not  to  shriek,  howl,  or  hiss,  or 
laugh  indecently,  and  not  to  yell  at  strangers  and  new-comers.  In 
other  places,  they  are  in  words,  gestures,  and  clothing,  to  show  them- 

*  Zeisl,  87. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  27 

selves  students  of  moral  science ;  to  shun  vile  companions,  especially 
infamous  persons,  brawlers,  and  gamesters ;  neither  to  attend  public 
dances,  nor  to  direct  others  to  them ;  not  to  carry  weapons,  nor  to 
have  them  carried  after  them,  and  not  to  write  any  indecent  compo- 
sitions. 

The  doctors  are  to  read  honestly,  to  omit  no  part  of  the  ordinary 
gloss,  but  to  read  clearly,  wisely,  and  intelligibly,  both  to  beginners 
and  to  those  further  advanced,  and  always  to  endeavor  to  be  useful 
to  their  hearers.  They  shall  make  their  lectures  complete,  and  not 
too  brief;  and  shall  willingly  answer,  especially  after  lecture,  such 
students  as  may  ask  questions  on  doubtful  points.  The  doctors,  es- 
pecially such  as  read  lectures  in  the  morning,  are  forbidden  to  make  it 
known  to  their  hearers  by  handbills  ;  the  practice  being  objectionable, 
and  allowed  by  no  faculty  of  jurisprudence. 

The  teachers  are  also  bound  to  give  an  honest  statement  of  their 
hearers. 

The  doctors  in  civil  law  are  to  form  one  faculty  with  those  in  canon 
law,  even  at  examinations.  Neither  bachelors  nor  students,  but  only 
doctors  and  licentiates  admitted  to  the  faculty,  compose  it  (in  the 
strictest  sense),  and  no  others  can  become  deans. 

The  dean  shall,  during  his  official  term,  diligently  visit  the  bursaries 
and  the  houses  of  the  students  at  law. 

A  student  who  has  heard  lectures  on  civil  law  for  two  years,  and 
on  canon  law  for  two  years,  may  become  bachelor.  Before  becoming 
a  licentiate,  he  must  have  studied  seven  years,  and  must  have  received 
a  baccalaureate. 

But  this  term  of  years  will  not  suffice  without  proof  of  learning  ;  and 
learning  will  not  suffice  without  good  character  and  laudable  morals. 

"As  our  faculty,"  the  statutes  proceed,  "is  above  all  others  bound 
to  protect  the  sacrament  of  matrimony,  and  to  reject  every  unlawful 
union,  since  both  laws  express  themselves  in  various  ways  opposed  to 
such,  aud  as,  moreover,  the  doctorate  is  an  honor,  we  decree,  like  all 
the  other  faculties,  that  no  illegitimate  child,  or  child  of  a  harlot,  may 
become  doctor  or  licentiate." 

The  bachelor  must  prove  his  attainments  by  examination  and  dispu- 
tation ;  as  must  also  the  licentiate,  at  whose  examination  the  chancellor 
or  his  substitute  must  preside. 

At  the  conferring  of  the  doctorate,  the  candidate  receives  the  doc- 
tor's hat  (birretum)  and  ring,  the  shut  and  the  open  book,  the  master's 
kiss  and  blessing ;  after  which  he  reads  and  disputes.  To  the  doctor 
presenting  him  (that  is,  to  the  praises  of  this  disputation),  the  new 
doctor  must  give  fourteen  ells  of  cloth,  at  two  florins  an  ell ;  to  the 


28  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

beadle,  six  ells,  at  one  florin  an  ell ;  and  to  every  doctor  actually  lectur- 
ing, wine  and  confects. 

4.     The  Medical  Faculty* 

Medicine,  say  the  Vienna  statutes,  is  a  truly  rational  science,  both 
as  to  its  theory  and  its  practice.  We  adhere  to  and  obey  civil  digni- 
taries, the  Pope,  bishops,  and  prelates.  A  weakly,  inefficient  pastor 
injures  the  Church  much.  Dukes,  counts,  soldiers,  and  the  common 
.people,  who  should  serve  to  protect  the  State,  are,  if  they  lose  their 
health,  entirely  useless.  It  is  a  recognized  truth,  and  on  this  we  lay 
most  stress,  that  medicine  cares  for  men  even  while  yet  in  their 
mother's  womb,  and  from  their  birth,  through  all  their  life,  to  their 
death,  both  by  preserving  and  curing. 

The  candidate  for  a  baccalaureate  must  have  heard  lectures  upon 
the  work  of  Joannicius,  the  first  or  fourth  of  the  canon  of  Avicenna, 
and  some  work  on  practice,  as  that  of  Rasis  Almansor.  If  he  is  a 
master  in  arts,  he  must  have  heard  lectures  in  the  medical  faculty  for 
at  least  two  years ;  if  a  mere  student,  for  three.  He  must  be  twenty- 
two  years  old,  born  in  wedlock,  and  not  deformed  in  body.  If  princes 
or  others,  whoever  they  may  be,  shall  apply  for  a  degree  for  one  un- 
worthy of  it,  reference  shall  be  made  to  the  statutes  in  refusal,  and  to 
the  oaths  which  have  been  sworn  by  the  faculty. 

A  candidate  for  licentiateship,  if  he  has  a  degree  in  arts,  shall  have 
heard  lectures  on  medicine  for  five  years;  if  not  a  graduate,  for  six 
years.  If  he  is  found  fit  in  knowledge  and  character,  without  canoni- 
cal impediments,  and  not  too  effeminate  of  countenance,  he  may  re- 
ceive his  degree  at  the  age  of  26,  but  in  strictness  not  until  28. 

The  Aphorisms  of  Hippocrates  and  Galen  are  to  be  the  basis  of  the 
examination. 

The  promotion  of  licentiates  to  the  doctor's  degree  must  take  place 
in  the  Church  of  St.  Stephen ;  where  the  new  doctor  must  deliver  an 
address  in  praise  of  medicine,  and  afterward  a  lecture  upon  any  por- 
tion of  Avicenna,  Hippocrates,  or  Galen. 

The  custom  of  conferring  degrees  in  church  was  observed  down  to 
a  much  later  period.  Thus  Rehfeld  received  his,  in  1634,  in  the  ca- 
thedral at  Erfurt.  Meifarth  first  preached  from  Sirach  xxxviii.  1,  9 ; 
after  which  appeared  a  representative  of  Divine  Providence,  who  di- 
rected the  dean  to  take  his  seat.  The  latter,  as  promoter,  then  de- 
livered a  discourse  on  tobacco,  after  which  Divine  Providence  directed 
the  promotion  to  proceed,  upon  which  the  candidate  was  consecrated 
at  the  altar.f 

*  Zeisl,  7a  t  Motschmann,  ii.  316. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  29 

In  Erfurt,  the  bachelor  of  medicine  swore  that  he  would  observe  all 
things  to  which  the  oath  of  Hippocrates,  of  Cos,  binds  every  physician. 
This  oath  begins,  "I  swear  by  Apollo  Medicus,  and  JEsculapius,  &c, 
and  by  Hygeia  and  Panaceia,  and  all  the  gods  and  goddesses,  calling 
them  to  witness  that  I  will  fully  observe  this  oath."* 

C. — MORALS    AND    DISCIPLINE. 

Before  treating  these  subjects  I  think  it  necessary  to  make  a  few 
general  remarks. 

Robert  von  Mohl,  in  1840,  published  his  "  Historical  Account  of 
the  Morals  and  Conduct  of  the  Students  at  Tubingen  during  the  Six- 
teenth Century."  He  drew  such  important  facts  as  he  found  from  the 
archives  of  the  university,  in  which,  as  he  says,  are  many  records  of 
the  life  and  morals  of  the  students.  But  he  adds,  that  "  many  inter- 
esting pages  of  that  life  remain  entirely  unilluminated  by  them ;  as 
more  especially,  the  praiseworthy  qualities,  the  quiet  virtues  of  indus- 
try, and  of  labor  for  learning,  which  have  not  given  occasion  for  any 
record,  while  faults  and  excesses  have  called  for  official  treatment  and 
perpetuation." 

What  Mohl  says  here,  with  so  much  truth,  of  the  matters  recorded 
in  the  archives  of  the  universities,  is  as  true  of  most  of  the  histories 
of  universities.  Everywhere  in  them  are  displayed  vices,  violations  of 
discipline,  outbreaks  of  abandoned  students,  brawls  among  themselves 
and  with  citizens,  even  murders,  abominable  immoralities,  and  these 
are  often  related  at  length.  Among  all  these  noisy,  hateful,  and  la- 
mentable wickednesses,  the  reader  is  in  danger  of  overlooking  the  fact 
that  at  the  same  universities,  and  at  the  same  time  when  the  same  wicked- 
nesses prevailed,  were  often  studying,  in  quiet  and  unknown,  youths 
-who  afterward,  as  men,  were  the  pride  and  ornament  of  their  country. 

Vice  should  not  be  concealed.  No  one  who  knows  men,  especially 
the  young,  will  put  faith  in  any  historian  who  finds  every  thing  excus- 
able and  as  pure  as  the  angels. 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  university  historian  would  be  to  blame 
if  he  should  give  such  prominence  to  every  thing  evil,  as  to  make  one 
believe,  finding  the  history  of  the  university  only  a  "scandalous 
chronicle"  of  the  vile  tricks  and  vulgarities  of  vulgar  students  and  pro- 
fessors, that  only  evil  prevailed.  The  faults  even  of  the  instructors 
should  not  be  concealed,  but  should  be  held  up  as  warning  examples, 
with  religious  seriousness ;  nor  should  the  narrative  ever  remind  the 
reader  of  the  heartless  tattle  which  is  so  often,  unfortunately,  to  be 
heard  relative  to  the  occurrences  of  the  present  day. 

*  Motsehmann,  ii.  304. 


30  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

The  universities  were  not  immaculate  at  any  time,  or  in  any  coun- 
try. No  human  corporation  is  faultless.  They  are  all  gone  astray ; 
the  expression  holds  of  all  times  and  countries.  Human  sinfulness  re- 
mains always  substantially  the  same ;  and  so,  in  consequence,  do  hu- 
man sins.  What  Augustine  related  more  than  fourteen  hundred 
years  ago  of  the  universities  of  Carthage  and  Rome,  has  remained  true 
down  to  the  present  day.  Even  the  ever  sores*  of  whom  he  speaks, 
villainous  students  who  took  a  devilish  pride  in  leading  astray  new- 
comers, have  been  extant  from  that  time  to  this.  But  at  that  same 
time  there  was  at  the  University  of  Carthage  with  them  that  Augus- 
tine who,  through  God's  grace,  afterward  became  the  greatest  father 
of  the  Church,  and  the  strictest  in  morals.  How  frightful  was  the 
moral  condition  of  Paris  afterward  in  the  13th  century!  A  Papal 
bull  of  the  year  1276  excommunicates  such  students  of  that  period  as 
celebrated  festivals  by  feasts,  drinking-bouts,  and  public  dances,  and 
even  "  did  not  fear  to  play  dice  in  the  churches  and  on  the  altars 
where  they  ought  to  worship  God." 

What  horrible  facts  does  Jacques  de  Vitry  relate  of  the  University 
of  Paris  !  He  says :  "  Everywhere  in  the  streets  and  squares  of  the 
city,  public  harlots  dragged  students  to  their  stews  almost  by  violence ; 
and  if  they  refused  to  enter,  they  immediately  followed  them,  shouting 
after  them,  '  Sodomite !' "  In  one  and  the  same  building  there  were 
schools  above  and  a  house  of  ill-fame  below.  In  one  part  the  harlots 
were  quarreling  with  each  other  and  with  their  pimps,  and  in  the  other 
the  students  were  disputing  and  contending  noisily.  Jacques  de  Vi- 
try, who  relates  these  abominations,  lived  in  the  13th  century,  and 
his  account  agrees  only  too  well  with  the  picture  drawn  of  that  cen- 
tury in  the  bull  of  excommunication  just  quoted.  And  in  that  same 
century  the  greatest  of  the  scholastics,  Albertus  Magnus,  Thomas 
Aquinas,  Bonaventura,  were  students  and  teachers  at  the  University 
of  Paris.  Thus  it  appears  that  from  the  earliest  period  to  the  present, 
good  and  evil  have  existed  in  the  universities  together.f  At  the  same 
time  it  should  not  be  denied  that  good  may  have  prevailed  more  at 
some  one  time,  and  evil  at  another. 

To  learn  what  evils  prevailed  at  some  one  university  at  one  particu- 
lar time,  it  is  only  necessary  to  read  those  parts  of  the  statutes  which 
refer  to  the  conduct  of  students  and  professors.     The  evils  which  they 

*  Confessions,  3,  3. 

t  The  worst  period  of  the  German  universities  falls,  as  we  shall  see,  In  the  time  of  the  preva- 
lence of  Pennalism,  nearly  from  1610  to  1661 ;  and  within  the  same  period  belongs  the  student- 
life  of  some  most  excellent  men;  as,  Simon  Dach,  born  1605;  Paul  Fleming,  born  1609;  Jo- 
hannn  Franck,  born  1618;  Paul  Gerhardt,  born  1606;  Otto  von  Guerike,  born  1602;  Martin 
Opitz,  born  1597 ;  and  many  others. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  31 

cite  on  particular  occasions,  had  almost  certainly  already  become  gen- 
eral in  the  university. 

To  refer,  for  example,  to  the  statutes  of  the  four  faculties  at  Vienna, 
already  quoted.  When  the  theological  students  are  warned  not  to  be- 
come drunkards  and  lechers,  to  avoid  suspicious  places,  &c. ;  when  the 
students  of  law  are  directed  to  be  quiet  at  lectures,  and  not  to  shriek, 
howl,  or  hiss,  to  avoid  vile  company,  infamous  persons,  and  brawlers, 
gamesters,  <fec,  and  so  on,  as  might  be  cited  from  these  statutes,  it  may 
be  taken  for  certain  that  those  who  drew  the  statutes  were  obliged  to 
insert  these  warnings,  by  the  most  disagreeable  previous  experience. 
And  the  facts  which  vouch  for  such  warnings  are  frequently  to  be 
found  in  the  records  of  the  universities. 

The  like  is  true  of  what  the  statutes  say  with  reference  to  teachers. 
If,  for  example,  some  master  at  Prague  had  not  lowered  the  established 
honorarium  for  lectures,  to  attract  more  hearers,  the  statutes  would  not 
have  prohibited  the  doing  so. 

We  may  here  insert  some  prohibitions  from  the  Vienna  statutes.* 
The  students,  these  say,  shall  not  spend  more  time  in  drinking,  fighting, 
and  guitar-playing,  than  at  physics,  logic,  and  the  regular  courses  of 
lectures ;  and  they  shall  not  get  up  public  dances  in  the  streets.  Quar- 
relers, wanton  persons,  drunkards — those  that  go  about  serenading  at 
night,  or  who  spend  their  leisure  in  following  after  lewd  women, 
thieves,  those  who  insult  citizens,  players  at  dice,  having  been  properly 
warned  and  not  reforming,  besides  the  ordinary  punishment  provided 
by  law  for  those  misdemeanors,  shall  be  deprived  of  their  academical 
privileges  and  be  ex-matriculated.  These  threats  are  directed  espe- 
cially against  those  who  go  about  breaking  into  doors.  Masters  of 
different  faculties  shall  keep  the  peace  with  each  other ;  beani  shall 
not  be  ill-treated ;  and  at  disputations  no  ribaldry  or  indecent  gestures 
shall  be  permitted. 

The  pious  earnestness  of  the  expressions,  not  only  of  the  faculty 
statutes,  but  of  those  of  the  University  of  Vienna,  respecting  the  reli- 
gion and  morality  of  the  students,  is  truly  edifying.  Sins,  they  say, 
darken  the  spiritual  eye,  so  that  it  cannot  discern  refined  truths. 
Though  one  in  that  condition  should  make  great  advances  in  learning, 
it  would  be  in  his  hands  a  weapon  for  fearful  wickedness,  not  a  help 
upon  the  road  to  virtue.  In  schools  of  learning,  a  strict  discipline  must 
prevail.  Holy  Church  can  never  gain  by  study,  as  long  as  men  injure 
themselves  by  vice  more  than  they  are  enlightened  by  instruction  ;  for 

*  Schlikenrieder,  122  sqq.  Compare  the  Ingolstadt  bursary  regulations,  which  provide  that 
"  those  appointed  to  such  by  the  faculty  shall  not  spend  more  time  at  taverns,  fighting-bouts, 
with  guitar-players  and  lute-players,  than  in  philosophy." — Medcrer,  iv.  97. 


32  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

the  destroying  one  single  soul  is  so  great  an  evil  that  it  cannot  be  made 
good  by  the  enlightenment  with  learning  of  innumerable  others.  Bet- 
ter that  children  remain  at  home  in  ignorance,  but  pure  and  innocent, 
than  that  they  should  go  to  school  and  be  destroyed  by  sin.* 

It  was  an  object  of  solicitude  to  pious  and  conscientious  men  at  all 
periods,  that  youth  should  lead  moral  lives  at  the  universities,  and 
should  be  saved  from  perversion.  To  this  end  the  most  various  means 
were  resorted  to,  but  mostly  without  avail. 

At  the  older  German  universities,  as  at  Paris,  bursaries  were 
founded,!  at  which  a  number  of  students  lived,  under  the  strict  super- 
vision of  a  Rector  bursas,  and  receiving  assistance  from  him  in  their 
studies.  But  many  facts  show  that  in  these  bursaries  the  students  led 
lives  any  thing  but  moral,  as  did  many  of  the  rectors.  These  latter 
endeavored  to  attract  new-comers  to  their  bursaries ;  and  in  order  to 
make  themselves  acceptable  to  them,  overlooked  their  misdemeanors, 
cast  aside  all  strictness  of  discipline,  and  even  pursued  abandoned 
courses  in  common  with  them  ;  all  for  the  sake  of  the  profit  to  be  made 
from  the  bursarii  (Burscken).  At  Erfurt,  each  Hector  bursa  took  an 
oath,  in  the  words,  "  I  promise  that  I  desire  to  be  a  faithful  example 
to  my  bursarii  in  manners  and  learning."^  And  these  same  rectors 
drove  a  large  trade  in  Naumburg  beer,  sold  it  like  tavern-keepers  to 
any  one,  neglected  their  duties  as  teachers,  and  by  such  courses  grew 
rich,  while  their  students  ran  down  in  circumstances,  and  became  so 
poor  that  they  had  to  give  up  their  studies  and  go  home.§ 

We  shall  hereafter  see  what  means,  either  friendly  or  harsh,  were 
afterward  used  to  constrain  the  students  to  reputable  lives  and  indus- 
trious labor. 

IV.    The  University  of  Wittenberg,  and  its  Relations  to  the  Earlier 
Universities. 

When  the  first  German  universities  were  founded,  the  period  of  the 
great  profound  scholastics  was  long  past.  Anselmus,  Hugo  de  St. 
Victor,  Roger  Bacon,  Thomas  Aquinas,  Bonaventura,  belonged  to  the 
11th,  12th,  and  13th  centuries.  The  later  doctors  in  arts  possessed, 
for  the  most  part,  only  a  technical  skill  in  dialectic  fencing,  a  fruitless 
power  of  playing  with  empty  forms,  without  feeling  any  need  of  any 
real  mental  acquirements  or  progress.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  such  a  useless  state  of  things  should  soon  be  attacked  from  more 

*  Schlikenrieder,  121.  t  See  App.  XII.,  Bursaries. 

X  Also,  to  practice  them  in  Latinity.  Motschmann,  i.  646.  The  oath  is  from  the  statutes  in 
force  before  14G9. 

§  Motschmann,  651.  The  Ingolstadt  bursary  statutes  (Mederer,  iv.  96,)  provide  that  "  The 
overseers  (conventores)  must  expel  from  the  bursary  public  gamblers  and  lechers,  on  pain  of 
loss  of  office."    Such  orders  had  to  be  enforced  by  threats  of  punishment  1 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  33 

than  one  direction,  and  that  in  such  an  intellectual  desert  a  longing 
should  grow  up  for  some  living  spring  and  the  green  of  nourishing  life. 

In  another  part  of  this  history  I  have  sought  to  describe  the  contest 
between  the  ancient  and  dying  scholastic  system  of  instruction,  and  the 
young  and  vigorous  classical  system ;  the  strife  between  the  doctors  in 
arts  and  the  poets,  as  the  two  opposing  camps  were  then  called.  We 
have  seen  that  Cologne  was  the  headquarters  of  the  upholders  of  the 
ancient  system ;  and  that  most  of  the  champions  of  the  new,  either 
voluntarily  or  involuntarily,  gathered  into  Germany,  and  in  one  place 
and  another  began  to  teach  the  new  doctrines  in  universities  and  gym- 
nasia. 

About  the  end  of  the  15th  and  beginning  of  the  16th  century,  the 
new  system  found  a  home  in  the  universities  of  Tubingen  and  Heidel- 
berg :  Agricola,  Reuchlin,  the  youthful  Melancthon,  and  others,  arose 
at  these  places.  The  study  of  the  classics  did  not  suffice  for  them  ;  a 
second  and  more  profoundly  comprehensive  department  of  investigation 
was  entered,  namely,  the  exegetical  study  of  the  original  text  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament, — a  thing  before  unheard  of. 

There  is  a  great  resemblance  between  the  great  reformatory  efforts 
of  the  latter  years  of  the  15th  century  and  those  of  its  beginning,  in 
which  Huss  was  so  influential.  These  efforts,  so  intimately  connected 
with  the  study  of  the  Scriptures  and  of  the  classics,  found  a  point  of 
concentration  at  the  small  but  world-renowned  University  of  Witten- 
berg, founded  in  1502.* 

To  compare  this  with  the  earlier  universities,  we  do  not  find  it  to 
differ  in  the  mode  of  its  foundation,  nor  in  its  first  statutes,  from  those 
of  Prague,  Vienna,  &c.  It  was  founded  by  the  Elector  Frederic,  and 
received  grants  of  privileges  from  the  emperor  and  the  Pope.  Its  first 
statutes  are  dated  in  1508.  In  them  it  is  dedicated  to  God,  and  Mary 
the  mother  of  God  ;  St.  Paul  is  made  patron  of  the  theological  faculty, 
Ivo  of  the  juridical,!  Cosmas  and  Damian  of  the  medical,  and  St. 
Catharine  of  the  philosophical.  St.  Augustine  was  chosen  as  patron 
of  the  whole  university. 

In  the  year  of  the  publication  of  these  statutes,  the  Augustin  Luther 
received  the  appointment  of  professor  of  ethics  and  dialectics  in  Wit- 
tenberg, became  doctor  of  theology  in  1512,  published  his  theses  in 

*  See  Raumer's  History,  i.  127-213,  316-330;  the  descriptions  of  Luther,  Melancthon,  and  the 
University  of  Wittenberg.  The  following  account  is  intended  in  particular  to  elucidate  the  re- 
lations of  this  university  to  the  early  German  ones. 

t  Grohmann,  i.  108.  Ivo  was  also  patron  of  the  faculty  of  law  at  Vienna  and  Erfurt.  He  was 
Bishop  of  Chartres  in  the  11th  century,  and  served  as  a  patron  of  the  poor  without  pay. 
Motschmann,  i.  147.  St  Catharine  was  patroness  of  the  philosophical  faculty  at  Vienna  and  In 
golstadt. 

No.  16.— [Vol.  VI.,  No.  1.]— 3.        3 


34  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

1517,  and  in  1518  took  Melancthon  as  his  fellow-laborer  in  the  great 
work  of  the  Reformation,  which  was  mainly  based  upon  the  teaching  of 
the  patron  of  the  theological  faculty,  St.  Paul, — upon  the  doctrine  of 
Justification  by  Faith. 

Wittenberg  is  strongly  distinguished  from  the  earlier  universities, 
not  only  by  its  powerful  Reformatory  influence,  but  also  by  the  new 
studies  introduced  there,  and  the  new  spirit  and  method  in  which  they 
were  pursued. 

It  is  true  that  in  the  older  universities  lectures  were  read  upon  the 
Bible,  but  it  was  by  beginners  in  the  profession  of  teaching,  the  Bac- 
calaurei  Biblici ;  while  at  Wittenberg  two  doctors  lectured  in  the  Old 
Testament  and  two  in  the  New,  and  that  upon  the  original  text.  In 
the  place  of  the  mediaeval  dogmatics  of  the  Sentences  of  Petrus  Lom- 
bardus,  appeared  Melancthon's  Loci,  composed  in  the  very  spirit  of  the 
Reformation. 

In  comparing  the  courses  of  lectures  in  the  older  universities  with 
those  at  Wittenberg,  we  find  also  in  the  latter  the  seven  liberal  arts, 
except  music ;  but  in  none  of  them  were  the  earlier  text-books  used, 
except  in  astronomy  and  geometry.  At  first  sight  it  would  appear 
that  dialectics  played  a  part  in  many  respects  the  same  as  in  the  older 
universities  ;  but  further  examination  shows  that  instead  of  the  muti- 
lated translations  of  Aristotle  formerly  used,  the  Greek  originals  were 
introduced.  Thus,  the  Wittenberg  statutes  say:  "The  professor  of 
ethics  shall  read  Aristotle's  Ethics  in  the  Greek,  word  for  word  ;"* 
and  in  like  manner  is  the  professor  of  physics  to  read  Aristotle's  Phy- 
sics. And  where  the  original  text  is  not  made  the  basis  of  instruction, 
Melancthon's  manuals  of  dialectics,  physics,  and  ethics,  composed  with 
the  most  thorough  study  of  Aristotle,  are  substituted  for  them.  In 
like  manner,  Melancthon's  Rhetoric  was  a  text-book,  in  which  he 
closely  followed  especially  Cicero  and  Quintilian ;  and  which,  as  he 
says,  was  intended  as  an  elementary  introduction  to  the  understanding 
of  the  writings  of  both  those  authors,  who  were,  in  the  middle  ages,  as 
good  as  forgotten.  The  entirely  subordinate  place  previously  occupied 
by  rhetoric  in  comparison  with  dialectics,  and  its  introduction  to  a 
higher  one  by  means  first  of  Cicero  and  Quintilian,  and  in  general  of 
the  study  of  the  classics,  appears  from  the  fact  that  in  Wittenberg  dec- 
lamation alternated  with  disputation  on  the  Saturdays,  whereas  pre- 
viously there  had  been  disputations  every  Saturday. 

In  grammar,  great  changes  took  place.  We  have  elsewhere  related 
how  the  scholars  of  Hegius  in  particular,  as  Busch,  Murmellius,  Cswi- 

*  Corput  Reformatorwru,  x.  1010. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  35 

rius,  &c.,  strenuously  opposed  the  received  grammatical  text-books, 
particularly  the  Doctrinale  of  Alexander  de  Villa  Dei,  and  how  they 
were  more  than  once  persecuted  for  that  reason  by  the  adherents  of 
the  ancient  scholasticism,  especially  the  Cologners.  The  "  Epistles  of 
Obscure  Men"  was  a  prominent  satire  upon  the  vulgar  lives,  and  the 
correspondingly  barbarous  style  of  these  scholastics. 

Melancthon's  Latin  Grammar  was  the  result  of  the  study  of  the 
classics,  and  both  promoted  that  study  and  drove  out  the  previous 
grammatical  text-books. 

Lectures  upon  the  Latin  and  Greek  classics  were  not  given  at  all  in 
the  earlier  universities,  while  they  filled  a  very  important  place  at 
Wittenberg.  By  the  study  of  the  Latin  classics,  the  new  Latin  gram- 
mar, and  a  rhetoric  based  on  that  of  antiquity,  was  gradually  substi- 
tuted for  the  barbarous  mediaeval  Latin.  Melancthon's  historical  lec- 
tures, ako,  took  the  place  of  Carion's  Chronicon,  as  a  new  work. 

The  University  of  Wittenberg — mainly  through  Melancthon's  in- 
fluence during  the  16th  century — became  a  model  for  other  Protestant 
universities.  This  will  appear  at  once  upon  comparing,  for  instance, 
the  lectures  of  the  theological  and  yjhilosophical  faculties  of  Konigs- 
berg  and  Greifswald  with  those  of  Wittenberg ;  they  will  be  found  en- 
tirely similar  in  substance  to  the  latter.* 

While  it  thus  appears  that  the  University  of  Wittenberg  wras  far  in 
advance  of  the  earlier  ones  in  respect  to  learning  and  instruction,  the 
question  also  arises,  What  was  it  as  to  morals  and  discipline  as  com- 
pared with  them  ? 

To  judge  from  its  statutes  of  1546,  it  was  in  no  better  condition  than 
Vienna,  Tubingen,  Ingolstadt,  &c,  had  been  before.  These  denounce 
the  folly  of  such  youths  as  imagine  the  university  to  be  a  place  of  un- 
bridled license,  and  who  by  their  bad  example  ruin  many  others ;  who 
destroy  quiet  and  studious  industry,  disobey  the  rector,  do  not  attend 
church,  wander  about  by  day  and  night,  stir  up  disturbances,  break 
into  houses,  rob  gardens,  commit  thefts,  and  wantonly  insult  and  in- 
jure others.  They  enact  that  none  shall  challenge  another  to  fight ; 
harlots  are  threatened  with  severe  punishment ;  decent  clothing  is 
enjoined  ;  immodest  dancingf  forbidden  at  festivals,  and  lampooners 
and  liars  are  declared  to  be  infamous.}; 

*  Koch,  i.  604,  3GS,  372,  sqq.  Music  is  among  the  subjects  of  lectures  at  Greifswald.  lb.,  870. 
Luther  may  be  security  that  although  there  were  no  lectures  on  music  at  Wittenberg,  music  it- 
self did  not  fail  there.  In  part  i.  of  this  history,  p.  173,  an  extract  from  his  Table  Talk  is  given, 
beginning  thus:  "On  the  17th  Dec,  1538,  when  Dr.  M.  Luther  entertained  some  musicians,  and 
they  sang  some  beautiful  motets  and  set  pieces,"  &c. 

t  "  We  shall  punish  those  who  are  immodest  in  dancing,  and  who  oarry  young  women  round  In 
a  circle  (waltzing?),  iu  violation  of  the  ordinary  forms  of  decent  dancing."—  Corpus  Reform.,  x. 
997.  $  lb.  X.  995,  &a 


36  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

Various  discourses,  drawn  up  by  Melancthon,  to  be  delivered  by 
the  rector  before  and  after  the  annual  reading  of  the  statutes,  prove 
the  sad  state  of  things  which  the  statutes  indicate  clearly  enough. 
Thus,  one  of  these  addresses,  delivered  in  1537,*  says:  "When  I  con- 
sider how  at  this  time  discipline  is  broken  down  and  disorder  prevails, 
deep  grief  seizes  me.  I  see  in  spirit  the  severe  punishment  which 
shall  overtake  the  obdurate.  Never  were  youth  so  hostile  to  the  laws ; 
they  are  resolved  to  live  according  to  their  own  desires  only,  and  not 
to  regard  the  wishes  of  others.  They  are  deaf  to  the  word  of  God  and 
to  the  law.  How  few  strive  after  profound  and  thorough  learning !  A 
few  learn  here  and  there  something  which  will  afterward  be  useful  to 
them,  and  the  rest  learn  nothing  whatever." 

"  Let  it  not  be  imagined,"  says  another  of  these  addresses,  "  that 
universities  are  intended  to  assemble  young  men  of  leisure  to  amuse 
themselves  and  gamble.  No  ;  they  are  meant  to  foster  divine  knowl- 
edge and  other  good  learning;  they  are  meant  to  enlighten  men 
around  them  by  wisdom  and  virtue. "f 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  observe  that,  despite  the  vices  thus  cen- 
sured, to  which  part  of  the  students  at  Wittenberg  were  addicted,  yet 
at  this  same  time  there  proceeded  from  the  school  of  Luther  and  Me- 
lancthon most  influential  and  excellent  men ;  men  like  Trotzendorf, 
Camerarius,  Neander,  Matthesius,  and  many  others. J 

It  may  perhaps  be  asked,  How  was  it  that  such  extraordinary 
teachers  as  Luther  and  Melancthon  did  not  exert  greater  moral  in- 
fluence on  these  vicious  students  ?  The  great  number  of  them  was  one 
hindrance ;  and  the  more,  as  they  gathered  to  Wittenberg  from  all 
the  countries  of  Europe,  and  by  reason  of  their  differences  in  national 
character,  were  harder  to  manage  than  if  all  natives.  It  should  also 
be  remembered  what  requirements  were  made  upon  Luther,  Melanc- 
thon, and  the  other  teachers  for  the  great  work  of  the  Reformation  in 
church  and  school ;  how  much  they  printed,  what  an  extensive  cor- 
respondence they  kept  up.  Thus  it  happened  that,  notwithstanding 
their  wonderful  activity,  very  little  time  remained  to  them  for  personal 
intercourse  with  the  students  ;  and  that  only  with  such  as  sought  them 
of  their  own  accord  ;§  not  with  those  who  kept  at  a  distance  from 
them,  living  a  low  life,  and  desiring  to  be  undisturbed  in  it.  Lastly, 
the  history  of  the  Reformation  shows  that  the  students  in  various  ways 
misinterpreted  for  evil  the  newly  rising  intellectual  freedom,  and,  not 

*  Corp.  Reform.,  x.  984.  t  lb.  x.  939. 

%  Compare  the  previous  remarks  as  to  the  existence  at  the  same  time  of  good  and  evil  at  the 
universities. 

§  For  Melancthons  kindness  to  such,  see  this  work,  part  i.  1S9. 


THfi    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  37 

having  any  religious  adaptation  to  it,  foolishly  and  wildly  broke  over 
all  bounds.  To  understand  this  state  of  things,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
recall  the  excesses  which  forced  Luther  to  leave  the  Wartburg  and  re- 
turn to  Wittenberg  to  restore  order  there. 

V. — History  of  the  Manners  of  the  Universities  in  the  Seventeenth 

Century. 

We  have  described  the  dark  side  of  the  discipline  at  Wittenberg  in 
the  18th  century.  At  the  other  universities,  Protestant  and  Catholic, 
the  students  were  in  a  similar  condition  of  disorder.  Thus  at  Tiibin- 
ge\\  Konigsberg,  Greifswald,  Ingolstadt,  the  statutes  prohibited  drink- 
ing, gaming,  lechery,  righting,  street  tumults,  &c. ;  the  same  excesses 
which  are  threatened  with  punishment  by  the  statutes  at  Wittenberg.* 

It  would  seem  that  such  insubordination  could  not  be  exceeded.  It 
was,  however,  during  the  17th  century;  a  period  when  wickedness 
was  more  wanton,  influential,  and  universal  than  before. 

But  in  order  the  better  to  describe  the  peculiarities  of  this  terrible 
demoralization,  something  must  first  be  said  of  the  deposition. 

A. DEPOSITION, 

Called,  also,  Beania.  u  Beani"  were  those  who  are  now  called  by  the 
universally  received  term,  which  needs  no  definition,  of  "  Foxes."  The 
word  is  derived  from  the  French  bee  jaune,  yellow-bill.f  The  Beania 
or  Deposition  was  a  strange  ceremony  by  which  the  Beani  were  re- 
ceived to  be  students. 

In  a  dissertation  of  the  Swede  Fryksell,  there  is  a  description  of  a 
Deposition  which  the  author  attended  in  1716,  at  Upsala;  and  which, 
from  the  illustrations  accompanying  it,  seems  to  have  been  precisely 
like  the  German  ones.J 

"The  principal  of  the  ceremony,  called  Herr  Depositor,"  says  this  author, 
"caused  the  youths  who  desired  to  he  received  into  the  class  of  students  to 
dress  in  clothes  of  various  patterns  and  colors.  Their  faces  were  blacked,  and 
long  ears  and  horns  were  fastened  to  their  hats,  whose  brims  were  fastened 
down  smooth  ;  in  each  corner  of  their  mouths  was  inserted  a  long  boar's  tusk, 
which  they  must  hold  fast,  like  two  little  tobacco-pipes,  during  the  subsequent 
beating  ;  and  on  their  shoulders  were  placed  long  black  mantles.  Thus  hid- 
eously and  ridiculously  clothed,  like  those  whom  the  Inquisition  has  condemned 
to  the  flames,  the  Depositor  dismisses  them  from  the  Deposition-chamber 
and  drives  them  before  him  with  a  stick  like  a  herd  of  oxen  or  asses,  to  a  hall 
where  the  spectators  are  awaiting  them.  Here  he  arranges  them  in  a  circle,  in 
the  middle  of  which  he  stands,  makes  faces  at  them  and  silent  reverences,  ridi- 
cules them  for  their  absurd  appearance,  and  then  delivers  a  discourse  to  them, 
proceeding  from  burlesque  to  earnest.  He  speaks  of  the  vices  and  follies  of 
youth,  and  shows  how  necessary  it  is  for  them  to  be  improved,  disciplined,  and 

*  See  Kliipfel,  21 ;  Koch,  i.  387-393,  592-595. 

t  Beanus  was  defined,  acrostically,  Beanus  est  Animal  Nesciens  Vitam  Studiosorum.    In 
Btead  of  Beani,  Bacchanten  is  often  found  ;  and  instead  of  Fuchs  (Fox),  Meyfart  says  Feux. 
%  Dissertation  on  the  Origin  of  the  Initiation  of  New- Comers  into  Universities,  1755. 


38  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

polished  by  study.  Then  he  asks  them  various  questions,  which  they  must 
answer.  But  as  the  swine's  tusks  which  they  hold  in  their  mouths  hinder 
them  from  speaking  distinctly,  they  make  a  noise  more  like  swine's  grunting  ; 
whereupon  the  Depositor  calls  them  swine,  gives  them  a  light  heating  with  a 
stick  over  the  shoulders,  and  a  reproof.  These  teeth,  he  says,  signify  ex- 
cesses ;  for  young  people's  understandings  are  ohscured  by  excess  in  eating  and 
drinking.  Then  he  produces  out  of  a  hag  a  sort  of  wooden  tongs, °  with 
which  he  takes  them  about  the  neck,  and  shakes  them  about  until  the  tusks 
fall  down  on  the  ground.  If  they  are  docile  and  industrious,  he  says,  they 
will  get  rid  of  their  tendencies  to  intemperance  and  gluttony,  as  of  these 
swine's  tusks.  Then  he  pulls  off  their  long  ears,  by  which  he  gives  them  to 
understand  that  they  must  study  diligently,  unless  they  wish  to  remain  like 
asses.  Then  he  removes  their  horns,  which  signify  brutal  rudeness,  and  draws 
out  of  his  bag  a  plane.  Each  Bean  must  now  lie  down,  first  on  his  stomach, 
then  on  his  back,  and  then  on  each  side,  while  the  Depositor  planes  him  his 
whole  length  in  each  position,  saying,  '  Literature  and  liberal  arts  will  in  like 
manner  polish  your  mind.'  After  some  other  laughable  ceremonies,  the  De- 
positor fills  a  great  vessel  with  water,  which  he  pours  upon  the  head  of  the 
novice,  and  afterward  wipes  him  with  a  coarse  towel.  The  buffoonery  being 
ended  by  this  washing,  he  admonishes  the  planed,  scrubbed,  and  washed  as- 
semblage that  they  must  commence  a  new  life,  strive  against  wicked  impulses, 
and  lay  aside  evil  habits,  which  will  envelope  their  minds  just  as  their  differ- 
ent garments  envelope  their  bodies. ' ' 

This  account  was  illustrated  with  cuts,  and  it  and  they  appeared  in 
a  little  book  published  in  1680.f  The  frontispiece  represents  all  the 
instruments  of  deposition,^  and  the  remaining  cuts  the  use  of  them, 
and  under  each  is  a  brief  explanatory  rhyme.  In  the  first  the  Beanus 
is  having  his  hair  cut  off,  in  the  second  his  ear  cleaned  with  an  enor- 
mous ear-pick,  and  underneath  two  lines,  importing — 

M  Let  your  ears  be  closed  to  protect  you  against  fools  ; 
I  cleanse  you  for  learning,  not  for  vile  buffoonery." 

Further  on,  his  Bacchant's  teeth  are  shaken  out,  his  hand  filed,  a  beard 
painted  on  him  ;  he  is  hewed  with  an  axe,  planed,  bored  ;  the  horns  are 
taken  off  him,§  and  he  is  measured  with  a  measure. 

Besides  the  explanations  already  given  of  the  meaning  of  these 
ceremonies,  there  are  many  others  substantially  similar.  Thus,  one 
writer)  says : 

*  "  With  legs  which  stretch  out  and  draw  back  in  zig-zag" — an  instrument  very  vividly 
represented  in  the  accompanying  cuts. 

t  "  Iiitus  Depositionis.    Argentorati,  apud  Albertum  Dollwpff.    1680." 

%  These  are  named  in  the  following  hexameters: 

"  Serra,  dolabra,  bidens,  dens,  clava,  novacula,  pecten 
Cum  terebra  tornus,  cum  lima  malleus,  incus, 
Rastraque  cum  rostris,  cum/urea  et  forcipe  jvrpev.'1'' 

%  TI.  Conring  (De  Antiquitatibus  Academicis,  Dissert  iv.  p.  122)  says,  "The  initiation  of  new 
Btudents,  which  we  call  the  Deposition  of  the  horns.'1''  Does  this  give  rise  to  the  phrase,  "He 
must  get  rid  of  his  horns  first?"  Another  derivation  of"  Deposition'''  is,  from  the  putting  off 
their  Beanus-ship  upon  a  goat;  or  their  rustic  manners,  with  it.  See  Monum.  Univ.  Drag.,  i. 
2,  553.    The  phrase  reminds  us  of  Leviticus,  xvi.  20-22. 

]  "SJiort  Account  of  the  Academical  Deposition, for  Neio  Gentlemen  Students  and  Others, 
by  F.  B.  Pfenning,  Imperial  Notary  Public  and  Depositor  in  the  University  of  Jena."  Unfor- 
tunately without  date. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  39 

"The  hat  and  horns  represent  a  wanton,  wild,  and  insubordinate  nature, 
like  that  of  an  obstinate  ox  ;  the  Bacchant's  teeth  represent  a  man  who  is  like 
a  wild  boar,  and  when  the  Depositor  takes  them  away  from  the  new  student, 
there  should  also  be  taken  away  all  such  wild,  snappish,  and  devouring  quali- 
ties. The  great  axe  and  plane  allude  to  coarse,  unpolished,  and  boorish  man- 
ners. And  as  erudilus  means  nothing  else  than  an  image  hewn  and  shaped  out 
of  a  rough  block,  thus  should  a  student  be  erudite  from  such  coarse,  unpolished 
manners  ;  that  is,  hewn  and  planed,  so  that  after  the  Deposition  he  may  be  a 
polite  and  well-mannered  student.  The  comb,  shears,  knife,  and  soap,  refer  to 
purity  of  body  and  soul ;  and  the  auger  means,  '  that  by  pains  and  industry, 
men  in  like  manner  pierce  into,  investigate,  and  discover  the  secrets  of  nature. ' ' ' 

The  above  account  of  the  Deposition  at  Upsala  omits  a  concluding 
act  of  the  ceremony  which  was  practiced  both  there  and  in  Germany.* 
After  the  Beani  had  gone  through  all  their  symbolical  annoyances, 
they  were  brought  to  the  dean  of  the  philosophical  faculty,  who  ex- 
amines them  about  their  school-knowledge,  and  admonishes  them  how 
to  use  it  in  studying  and  in  life.  Then  he  consecrates  them,  putting 
salt  in  their  mouths,  and  pouring  wine  on  their  heads.  The  salt  was  a 
symbol  of  wisdom,  and  reminded  them  of  the  words,  "  Let  your  con- 
versation always  be  salted  with  salt ;"  the  wine  signified  purification 
from  the  dirt  of  the  Beania,  and  admonishes  the  student  thenceforward 
to  lay  aside  all  uncleanliness,  and  to  live  a  pure  life. 

Most  writers  on  Deposition  state  that  in  ancient  times,  at  Athens, 
Constantinople,  and  Berytus,  the  novices  were  subjected  to  the  same 
annoyance.f 

That  the  ceremony  of  Deposition,  at  the  German  universities,  was 
not  merely  a  piece  of  buffoonery  invented  by  the  students,  but  was 
reckoned  an  officially  authorized  ceremony,  appears,  for  example,  from 
the  following  statute  of  the  University  of  Erfurt:  "No  one  shall  be 
enrolled  as  a  student  who  shall  not  previously  have  undergone,  here  or 
elsewhere,  the  rite  of  Deposition,  anciently  established.^  In  like  man- 
ner, by  the  ancient  statutes  at  Prague,  no  one  could  be  admitted  to 
the  baccalaureate  examination  who  had  not  undergone  Deposition. 
The  ceremony  was  permitted  to  be  performed,  however,  immediately 
before  the  examination  or  during  it,  in  the  presence  of  the  master.§ 

The  Greifswalde  statutes  of  1545  say,||  "The  Deposition  is  to  be 

*  Fryksell  (p.  17)  says,  "We  learn  from  Freinsheimius  that  salt  and  wine  were  commonly 
brought  in  here  (at  Upsala)  as  at  other  universities;11  and  he  cites  an  address  of  Freinsheim  at  a 
Deposition  at  Upsala  in  1645. 

t  So  Conring,  who  gives  an  extract  from  Gregory  Nazianzen,  in  which  the  latter  mentions 
the  usual  annoyances  of  novices  at  Athens ;  which  carries  the  custom  back  into  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. In  the  sixth,  the  Emperor  Justinian  forbade  the  tormenting  of  novices  coming  to  Constan- 
tinople and  Berytus.  The  statutes  of  the  University  of  Vienna  of  1384  say :  "  Also,  let  none  pre- 
sume to  vex  the  new-comers,  who  are  called  Beani,  with  exactions  not  due,  or  to  molest  them 
with  other  injuries  or  contumely.11 

%  Motschmann,  i.  797 ;  and  he  says  (1st  continuation,  p.  465),  "  The  chief  beadle  conducted  the 
Deposition  in  the  faculty-room.11 

§  Monum.  Univ.  Prag.,  i.  1, 125.  J  Koch,  L  867. 


40  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

kept  up.  Such  Beani  as  feel  themselves  free  from  school  discipline, 
are  inclined  to  idleness,  and  think  themselves  exceedingly  learned,  are 
to  be  somewhat  sharply  admonished  during  the  Deposition  how  trifling 
their  learning  is,  and  how  much  they  have  yet  to  learn." 

Opinions  of  the  Deposition  were  very  different.  Melancthon  said, 
"This  vexation  may  remind  you  that  you  must  meet  in  life  many 
troubles  and  difficulties,  which  are  to  be  borne  with  patience,  lest  im- 
patience bring  you  into  worse  condition." 

Luther's  views  were  similar.  Matthesius  relates  that  at  one  Deposi- 
tion, Luther  himself  "absolved"  the  novices.  Among  many  other 
beautiful  remarks,  he  said,  "  This  was  only  a  child's  Deposition  ;  when 
they  grew  up  and  served  the  people  in  church,  school,  or  state,  they 
would  then  really  'depose'  their  parishioners,  pupils,  and  citizens. 
And  this  annoyance  accustoms  the  children  from  their  youth  to  endu- 
rance ;  and  he  who  cannot  endure  and  listen  to  any  thing,  will  not  do 
for  a  preacher  or  governor."* 

"  When  Martin,"  it  is  related  elsewhere  (Luther's  Table  Talk,  Walch, 
xxii.  2232  and  2233),  "was  at  a  Deposition,  he  'absolved'  three  boys, 
saying,  '  These  ceremonies  will  also  be  of  this  service,  that  they  will 
make  you  humble,  not  pompous  and  presumptuous,  nor  accustomed  to 
wickedness.  For  such  vices  are  frightful  monstrous  beasts,  which  have 
horns,  and  are  not  good  for  students,  but  do  them  harm.  Therefore 
be  humble,  and  learn  to  suffer  and  have  patience,  for  you  will  be  pass- 
ing through  a  Deposition  all  your  lives When  any  thing  be- 
falls you,  do  not  be  mean-spirited,  cowardly,  and  impatient  .... 
but  be  bold,  and  endure  such  a  cross  with  patience,  without  murmur- 
ing :  remember  that  at  Wittenberg  you  were  consecrated  to  endurance ; 
and  you  can  say,  when  such  a  thing  happens,  Well,  I  began  to  be 
"  deposed"  at  Wittenberg,  and  it  will  last  me  all  my  life.  Also,  this 
Deposition  of  ours  is  only  a  figure  and  picture  of  human  life,  in  all 
manner  of  ill-fortune,  trouble,  and  discipline.  Pour  wine  on  their 
heads,  and  absolve  them  from  being  Beani  and  Bachants.1 " 

Later  writers,  again,  spoke  with  contempt  of  the  Deposition,  and 
called  it  a  stupid  buffooneryf  and  a  barbarous  custom.^ 

These  opponents  lived  during  the  17th  century,  in  the  time  of  the 
terrible  custom  of  Pennalism ;  and  in  the  shameful  abuse  of  the  Pen- 
nals  they  saw  only  an  extension  of  the  Deposition.  The  Deposition, 
says  Weisius,  is  finished  in  an  hour,  while  the  vexations  of  the  Pennals 

*  Matthesius'  12th  Sermon  on  Luther. 

t  Conring— "The  folly  of  petulant  students."    Conring  died  In  1681. 

X, "  Put  away  this  barbarism  from  Germany,"  says  LimnJLus,  who  was  inspector  of  studies  at 
Ansbach.    He  died  in  1665. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  41 

last  a  year.*  In  Jena,  Valentin  Hoffmann  came  out  in  defense  of  the 
Deposition,!  saying  that  "the  barbarous  and  barbarously  named  custom 
of  Pennalization,  though  it  looked  much  like  the  Deposition,  was 
nevertheless  as  wide  as  the  heavens  apart  from  it,  since  the  Deposition 
was  not  private  but  public,  and  conducted  by  some  one  appointed  by 
the  authorities." 

Although  we  may  well  believe  the  respectable  and  officially  ap- 
pointed depositor  Hoffmann,  still  there  are  many  reasons  for  believing 
that  the  Deposition  was  what  gave  its  origin  to  Pennalism,  as  it  cer- 
tainly was  what  the  latter  falsely  claimed  to  resemble.  Luchten,  in 
his  "  Oration  against  Pennalism"  says  that  " the  Schorists  do  not 
pass  over  those  who  have  been  'absolved'  by  Deposition.  From  Be- 
anism,  they  tell  them,  you  are  free ;  but  you  are  now  Pennals ;  you 
must  remain  in  that  equally  shameful  condition,  and  cannot  escape 
from  it  in  less  than  a  year."J  The  same  appears  from  the  above  cited 
description  of  the  Deposition  in  Upsala.  After  the  ceremony  of  De- 
position, it  is  said,  the  Depositor  declares  that  the  Beani  are  thence- 
forth free  students,  but  that  they  must  still  for  six  months  wear#the 
same  black  mantle  used  at  the  Deposition,  and  must  every  day  offer 
themselves  to  do  service  to  their  older  fellow-students  of  the  same  na- 
tion, both  in  their  rooms  and  at  taverns,  and  must  do  all  things  which 
they  are  commanded,  and  endure  all  reproaches  and  abuse.  "And 
this,"  adds  the  French  relater,  "  is  what  they  call  les  Penales."§ 

This  unfortunate  similarity  between  the  Deposition  and  Pennalism, 
would,  of  course,  at  a  time  when  all  means  were  resorted  to  to  put 
down  the  latter,  destroy  the  former  also.  Thus,  the  Deposition  was 
discontinued  at  Tubingen  in  17 17,  although  new  students  continued  to 
be  examined  on  their  school  studies  by  the  dean  of  the  philosophical 
faculty.  || 

The  statutes  of  the  University  of  Halle,  of  1694,  also  put  an  end  to 
the  Deposition.  "At  the  same  time,"  they  say,  "we  retain  the  pur- 
pose for  which  a  judicious  antiquity  established  that  ceremony  ;  name- 
ly, that  the  students  may  be  examined  by  the  dean  of  the  philosophical 
faculty,  may  be  admonished  of  the  piety,  modesty,  and  manners  which 

*  "  Q.  D.  B.  V.  ritum  depositionis  academical."  Praeses  Sonftius,  respondens  Weisins : 
1697,  Wittenberg. 

t  Praise  of  the  Deposition  of  Beani  ;  pronounced  in  1657  by  Valentine  Hoffman,  Depositor 
at  this  University.    2d  ed.    Jena,  1688. 

%  Luchtenius.    In  Chrysander,  p.  42. 

§  Fryksell,  p.  17.  "  Ce  qui  s'appeloit  Us  Penales."  The  relater  seems  to  derive  it  from  the 
French  penal  (pomalis). 

I|  Arnoldt,  i.  234:  and  he  gives,  at  p.  414,  an  extract  from  M.  Sahmcn's  "Dissertation  on  the 
Ceremony  of  Deposition.''' 


42  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

befit  an  ingenuous  youth ;  that  advice  for  the  prosperous  beginning  of 
their  studies  may  be  supplied  them  ;  and  that,  evidence  of  this  being 
given,  they  may  be  admitted  to  the  study  of  letters,  if  their  age  per- 
mits, by  the  use  of  wine  and  salt,  and  dismissed."* 

In  Jena,  the  Deposition  was  restricted  to  this  :  that  the  instruments 
of  martyrdom  were  only  exhibited  to  the  new-comers,  their  use  ex- 
plained, an  appropriate  admonition  given,  and  then,  as  before,  they 
were  taken  to  the  dean  of  the  philosophical  faculty,  who  examined 
them,  and  instructed  them  how  they  ought  to  live  and  to  study.f  In 
Wittenberg,  the  practice  was  discontinued  in  1*733  ;  and  sixteen  gros- 
chen,  which  the  Depositor  had  received  from  a  Beanus,  were  handed 
over  to  the  philosophical  faculty .\ 

B. PENNALISM. 

The  Deposition,  in  spite  of  all  the  tragi-comic  annoyances  to  which 
the  new-comers  had  to  subject  themselves,  was  still,  as  we  have  seen, 
iutended  in  earnest;  was  even  recognized,  and  indeed  commanded,  in 
the^academical  statutes,  and  performed  in  the  presence  and  with  the 
help  of  the  dean  of  the  philosophical  faculty. 

Unprincipled  older  students  perverted  the  practice,  however,  in  a 
dishonest  manner,  into  the  devilish  caricature  of  Pennalism.  This  has 
been  described  to  us  by  many  cotemporaries,  even  in  many  official 
papers,  in  royal  rescripts,  and  in  a  decree  of  the  Diet  of  Ratisbon  ;  all 
of  which  agree  so  perfectly  that  we  cannot,  unfortunately,  doubt  at  all 
of  the  actual  existence  of  this  imp  of  the  devil. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  university  statutes  and  annals  show 
that  at  all  times  dangerous  vices  and  disorders  were  arising  in  all  the 
universities. 

In  a  discourse  by  Prof.  Wolfgang  Heyder,  of  Jena,§  in  1607,  the 
whole  repulsive  life  of  a  rude,  disorderly  student  is  described  in  the 
strongest  language ;  but  Pennalism  is  not  alluded  to  in  it.  But  only 
a  few  years  later,  about  1610  and  1611,  it  first  appeared, ||  and  for  fifty 
years,  until  1661,  it  had  possession  of  the  universities.  The  flourishing 
season  of  its  tyranny  fell  in  a  most  terrible  period  for  our  country,  in 
that  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  ;  in  those  years  when  it  seemed  as  if  evil 
had  completely  gained  dominion  over  good. 

*  Koch,  i.  478.  t  Pfenning ;  at  the  end. 

X  Grohmann,  iii.  47.  §  See  Appendix  VIII. 

|  In  the  ordinance  of  the  University  of  Jena,  relating  to  the  entire  disuse  of  Pennalism,  dated 
in  1661,  it  is  said  that  fifty  years  and  more  ago  it  had  come  thither,  and  that  a  prohihition  of  it 
had  appeared  as  early  as  1610.  (Schottgen,  81.)  Luchtenins,  at  Helmstadt,  delivered  an  address 
in  1611,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  vice-rectorate,  in  which  he  says,  "A  contagious  plague  has  even 
now  (jpridern)  attacked  our  university,  coming  I  know  not  whence11— namely,  Pennalism. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  43 

What  now  was  the  distinction  between  Pennalism  and  the  other 
previous  vices  of  student-life ;  and  how  did  it  come  to  pass  that  even 
governments  allied  themselves  together  and  sought  all  possible  means 
of  exterminating  it  ? 

The  reason  was,  that  this  case  was  not  one  of  excess  by  a  single  per- 
son, as  had  previously  happened,  but  was  a  real  conspiracy,  an  organi- 
zation of  bad  men,  by  means  of  which  older  and  abandoned  students 
exercised  the  harshest  tyranny  over  the  younger,  and  made  all  disci- 
pline impossible.  Nor  was  this  organization  confined  to  one  isolated 
German  university.  The  ringleaders  in  all  of  them  had  entered  into  a 
league  for  the  maintenance  of  their  villainous  scheme,  for  the  prevention 
of  all  discipline,  and  the  frustration  of  all  the  regulations  of  academical 
authorities. 

If  it  is  asked  how  this  hellish  league  could  establish  itself  in  so  few 
years,  it  may  be  said  that  the  existing  ceremony  of  Deposition  was  an 
assistance  to  it.  And  when  one  generation  of  elder  students  had, 
under  the  cloak  of  inflicting  only  the  usual  annoyances,  established 
complete  authority  over  the  new-comers,  and  kept  them  for  a  year  in 
the  harshest  manner,  under  the  indecent  and  abominable  Pennal  ser- 
vice, it  was  endured  in  the  hope,  after  the  Pennal  year  was  ended,  of 
taking  a  place  among  those  who  should  in  turn  tyrannize  over  new- 
comers. Thus  the  government  of  these  tyrants  propagated  itself  from 
one  generation  to  the  next. 

The  older,  or  tyrannizing  students,  were  called  Schorists,  "  because 
they  cut  off  (abgeschoren)  the  hair  of  the  younger  students,  and  also 
gave  them  a  good  dressing  down,  or,  as  their  vulgar  dialect  had  it, 
sheared  (geschoren)  them."  They  were  also  called  Absoluti,  as  being 
freed  from  the  Pennal  obligations.* 

The  name  (Pennals)  of  the  subject-students  has  been  variously  de- 
rived. It  might,  very  evidently,  have  been  derived  from  the  wearing 
of  such  a  bunch  of  feathers  as  is  even  now  used  in  schools  under  the 
name  of  Pennal  ;f  those  students  were  intended  to  be  ridiculed  by  it 
who  industriously  made  notes  of  the  lectures.J 

The  mode  in  which  the  Schorists  apprehended  the  new-comers  is 
given  by  Schroder.  "When  young  people,"  he  says,  "come  to  the 
university,  they  have  scarcely  set  one  foot  inside  a  door,  or  house,  or 
city,  before  one  of  these  national  brothers  waits  upon  them  to  inquire, 
4  Will  you  come  to  the  magnificus,  and  promise  to  obey  him  in  all 
proper  things?'  4  What  magnificus?'  they  ask.  'You  have  no  friend 
near  him,'  it  is  answered,  '  and  his  opinion  of  you  will  be  small.     We 

*  Schottgen,  16.  t  lb.  13.  %  For  other  nicknames  of  the  Pennals,  see  Appendix  IX. 


44  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

will  advise  you  bow  to  arrange  matters  so  that  you  shall  thank  us  all 
your  lives.  Follow  our  advice  with  cheerfulness,  or  you  will  have  to 
follow  it  in  sorrow  ;  join  yourself  to  the  nation  ;  a  year  soon  goes  by  » 
lest  they  treat  you  so  that  you  will  have  cause  to  curse  them  all  your  life.' 

"  To  accomplish  their  designs  they  used  both  deceit  and  force.  As  for 
the  former,  they  pretended  that  their  organization  and  meetings  estab- 
lished love  and  friendship, — as  the  Epicureans  were  accustomed  to  do> 
probably ;  that  is,  by  great  glasses,  beakers,  and  cans.  There  they 
bound  themselves  to  each  other,  with  cursing  and  swearing,  to  live  and 
die  like  brothers  for  the  welfare  of  each  other.  But  scarcely  would 
an  hour  or  half  an  hour  go  by,  when  from  one  word,  or  one  cup  which 
one  had  got  more  or  less  than  another,  arose  a  great  quarrel ;  and  those 
who  a  little  before  had  been  willing  to  praise  each  other  to  the  heavens, 
both  by  word  and  writing,  were  abusing  each  other  and  pulling  each 
other  by  the  hair."* 

We  have  many  descriptions  of  the  vile  and  abandoned  student-life  of 

the  period  of  Pennalism ;  the  following  very  lively  one  is  from  the 

pseudonymous  Philander  von  Sittewald  :  \ 

"  Meanwhile  I  saw  a  great  chamber  ;  a  common  lodging-room,  or  museum, 
or  study,  or  beer-shop,  or  wine-shop,  or  ball-room,  or  harlot's  establishment, 
&c,  &c.  In  truth  I  cannot  really  say  what  it  was,  for  I  saw  in  it  all  these 
things.  It  was  swarming  full  of  students.  The  most  eminent  of  them  sat  at 
a  table,  and  drank  to  each  other  until  their  eyes  turned  in  their  heads  like 
those  of  a  stuck  calf.  One  drank  to  another  from  a  dish — out  of  a  shoe  ;  one 
ate  glass,  another  dirt ;  a  third  drank  from  a  dish  in  which  were  all  sorts  of 
food,  enough  to  make  one  sick  to  see  it.  One  gave  another  his  hand  :  they 
asked  each  other's  names,  and  promised  to  be  friends  and  brothers  forever; 
with  the  addition  of  this  clause,  '  I  will  do  what  is  pleasant  to  you,  and  avoid 
what  is  unpleasant  to  you  ;'  and  so  each  would  tie  a  string  off  his  leather 
breeches  to  the  many-colored  doublet  of  the  other.  But  those  with  whom 
another  refused  to  drink  acted  like  a  madman  or  a  devil  ;  sprang  up  as  high  as 
they  could  for  anger,  tore  out  their  hair  in  their  eagerness  to  avenge  such  an 
insult,  threw  glasses  in  each  others'  faces,  out  with  their  swords  and  at  each 
other's  heads,  until  here  and  there  one  fell  down  and  lay  there  ;  and  such  quar- 
rels I  saw  happen,  even  between  the  best  friends  and  blood  relatives,  with  dev- 
ilish rage  and  anger.  There  were  also  others  who  were  obliged  to  serve  as 
waiters  and  pour  out  drink,  and  to  receive  knocks  on  the  head  and  pulls  of  the 
hair,  and  other  similar  attentions,  which  the  others  bestowed  on  them  as  if  on 
so  many  horses  or  asses  ;  sometimes  drinking  to  them  a  dishful  of  wine,  and 
singing  the  Bacchus  song,  or  repeating  the  Bacchus  Mass — •  0  vitrum  gloriosum!' 
Kesp.  ''Mild  gratissimum  V — which  waiters  were  termed  by  the  rest,  Bacchants, 
Pennals,  house-cocks,  mother-calves,  sucklings,  quasimodogeniti  ;  and  they 
sang  a  long  song  about  them,  beginning — 

'Proudly  all  the  Pennals  hither  are  gathered, 
Who  are  lately  newly  feathered, 
And  who  at  home  have  long  been  tethered, 
Nursing  their  mothers.' 


And  which  ends- 


'Thns  are  all  of  the  Pennals  treated, 
Although  they  all  are  very  conceited. 


*  Schroder's  Trumpet  of  Peace,  33;  in  Schottgen,  p.  40;  and  compare  Meyfarfs  description, 
Appendix  X. 
t  Sixth  Tale,  Part  i.    Given  by  Schottgen,  p.  35. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  45 

"  At  the  conclusion  of  these  ceremonies  and  songs  they  cut  off  their  hair,  as 
they  do  that  of  a  professing  nun.  From  this,  these  students  are  called  Scho- 
risten,  also  Agirer,  Pennalisirer ;  but  among  themselves  they  call  each  other  gay, 
free,  honest,  brave,  or  stout-hearted  students. 

"  Others  I  saw  wandering  about  with  their  eyes  nearly  shut,  as  if  they  were 
in  the  dark,  each  with  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand,  which  they  would  strike  on 
the  stones  till  the  sparks  flew  ;  then  would  cry  out  into  the  air  so  that  it 
would  give  one  a  pain  in  the  ears ;  would  assault  the  windows  with  stones, 
clubs,  and  sticks,  and  cry  out,  Here,  Pennal !  here,  Feix !  here,  Bech !  here, 
caterpillar!  here,  Mount-of-Olives-man  !  with  such  a  tearing  and  striking, 
driving  and  running  about,  cutting  and  thrusting,  as  made  my  hair  stand  on 
end.  Others  drank  to  each  other  off  seats  and  benches,  or  off  the  table  or  the 
floor,  under  their  arms,  under  their  legs,  on  their  knees,  with  the  cup  under 
them,  over  them,  behind  them,  or  before  them.  Others  lay  on  the  floor  and 
let  it  be  poured  into  them  as  .if  into  a  funnel. 

"  Soon  the  drinking-cups  and  pitchers  began  to  fly  at  the  doors  and  the 
stove,  and  through  the  windows  so  outrageously,  that  it  provoked  me  ;  and 
others  lay  there,  spewing  and  vomiting  like  dogs." 

A  second  description  of  this  abominable  student-life  is  given  by 
Schottgen,  from  a  work  published  at  Giessen,*  which  states  that  "  the 
SchoristP,  at  the  Pennal  feasts,  when  they  have  eaten  and  drank  to 
their  satisfaction,  are  accustomed  to  carry  off  movables,  books,  manu- 
scripts, clothes,  and  whatever  else  they  happen  to  find ;  and,  moreover, 
to  be  guilty  of  all  manner  of  insolences,  such  as  breaking  down  and 
destroying  stoves,  doors,  windows,  tables,  and  chests. 

"xVnd,  further,  the  younger  students  have  been  made  to  copy  all  sorts 
of  writings,  to  wait,  to  go  of  errands,  even  ten  and  twenty  miles  and 
more.  If  one  of  these  maleferiata  and  Pennal-flayers  happens  to  choose 
to  have  something  copied,  the  junior  must  be  at  hand  to  serve  as  his 
scribe ;  has  he  guests  and  friends  with  him,  the  young  man  must  be 
there  to  wait ;  is  there  any  thing  else  to  be  done  or  to  be  obtained,  or 
to  be  brought  from  any  of  the  neighboring  villages,  the  young  fellow 
must  go  at  his  order,  and  be  his  servant,  messenger,  and  porter.  Does 
he  choose  to  walk,  the  junior  must  attend  as  his  body-guard  ;  is  he 
stupidly  drunk,  the  novice  must  not  flinch  nor  budge  from  him,  but 
must  remain  close  at  hand  as  if  he  were  his  master,  must  serve  him  and 
help  him  along  the  street.  Is  he  sick,  the  juniors  must  wait  on  him 
by  turns,  so  that  he  need  never  be  alone ;  does  he  wish  for  music,  if 
the  junior  is  skilled  in  it  he  must  be  his  musician,  all  night  long  if  he 
desires  it.  Is  any  thing  else  whatever  required,  the  new-comer  is  set 
about  it,  and  he  must  be  forthcoming,  even  if  he  were  sick  in  bed 
from  his  discipline,  and  at  midnight.  Does  the  older  student  get  into 
a  quarrel  or  a  fight,  the  junior  must  carry  his  sword  to  him,  and  be 
ready  for  assiduous  service  in  the  matter.  Would  he  gratify  his  vile 
desires  with  blows,  the  junior  must  suffer  the  blows  and  boxes  on  the 

*  Schottgen,  p.  46;  from  "Pennalismi  Abrogatio  et  rrqfiigatio  ex  Academia  Basso  Lis- 
sena."    Giessen,  1G60,  folio. 


46  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

ear  which  come  from  his  cursed  and  devilish  passion  ;  must  patiently 
endure  the  most  shameful  personal  abuse,  and  must  let  the  other  work 
his  entire  will  upon  him  as  if  he  were  nothing  but  a  dog.  In  short, 
he  treats  him  like  a  slave,  after  his  own  hateful  will,  almost  more 
harshly  than  the  harshest  tyrants  or  most  shameless  men  could  do  ; 
and  what  is  still  more,  although  these  tormentors  inflict  the  most  un- 
endurable tortures  upon  these  young  people,  they  must  preserve  per- 
petual silence  about  it,  and  must  not  dare  to  open  their  lips  or  com- 
plain to  any  one,  even  to  the  academical  authorities  ;  or  otherwise 
they  will  never  be  'absolved'  and  admitted  to  become  students  ;  which 
threat  terrifies  them  so  much,  that  they  would  suffer  the  most  severe 
and  vilest  shame  and  torment  ten  times  over  rather  than  to  inform 
any  one  about  it." 

We  find  a  third  description  in  a  rescript  of  Duke  Albrecht  of 
Saxony  to  the  University  of  Jena,  in  1624.*  He  says:  "Customs  be- 
fore unheard  of — inexcusable,  unreasonable,  and  wholly  barbarian — 
have  come  into  existence.  When  any  person,  either  of  high  or  low 
rank,  goes  to  any  of  our  universities  for  the  sake  of  pursuing  his 
studies,  he  is  called  by  the  insulting  names  of  Pennal,  fox,  tape-worm, 
and  the  like,  and  treated  as  such ;  and  insulted,  abused,  derided,  and 
hooted  at,  until,  against  his  will,  and  to  the  great  injury  and  damage 
of  himself  and  his  parents,  he  has  prepared,  given,  and  paid  for  a 
stately  and  expensive  entertainment.  And  at  this  there  happen, 
without  any  fear  of  God  or  man,  innumerable  disorders  and  excesses, 
blasphemies,  breaking  up  of  stoves,  doors,  and  windows,  throwing 
about  of  books  and  drinking-vessels,  looseness  of  words  and  actions, 
and  in  eating  and  drinking,  dangerous  wounds,  and  other  ill  deeds ; 
shames,  scandals,  and  all  manner  of  vicious  and  godless  actions,  even 
sometimes  extending  to  murder  or  fatal  injuries.  And  these  doings 
are  frequently  not  confined  to  one  such  feast,  but  are  continued  for 
days  together  at  meals,  at  lectures,  publicly  and  privately,  even  in  the 
public  streets,  by  all  manner  of  misdemeanors  in  sitting,  standing,  or 
going,  such  as  outrageous  howls,  breaking  into  houses  and  windows, 
and  the  like ;  so  that  by  such  immoral,  wild,  and  vicious  courses  not 
only  do  our  universities  perceptibly  lose  in  good  reputation,  but  many 
parents  in  distant  places  either  determine  not  to  send  their  children  at 
all  to  this  university — founded  with  such  great  expense  by  our  honored 
ancestors,  now  resting  in  peace  with  God,  and  thus  far  maintained  by 
ourselves — or  to  take  them  away  again  ;  so  that  if  this  most  harmful 
state  of  affairs  is  not  ended  and  removed  out  of  the  way  at  the  begin- 

*  Dated  Dec.  9;  given  by  Meyfart,  p.  205. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  47 

ning,  it  may  well  happen  that  very  soon  no  students  whatever  will  be 
left  in  the  place,  and  that  this  institution,  which  even  in  these  careful 
and  perilous  times  is  so  useful  in  advancing  the  glory  of  God,  spread- 
ing abroad  his  name,  which  alone  makes  blessed,  the  promotion  of  all 
good  and  liberal  arts,  and  the  maintenance  of  spiritual  and  temporal 
government,  which  depends  on  them,  may  go  entirely  to  ruin."* 

Much  influence  was  exerted  by  a  work  upon  Pennalism,  entitled, 
"Christian  Recollections  of  the  Orders  and  Honorable  Customs  intro- 
duced in  many  of  the  Evangelical  Universities  in  Germany,  and  of  the 
barbarous  ones  now  for  some  years  crept  in  during  these  miserable 
times,  by  Johannes  Matthseus  Meyfart,  Doctor  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures and  Professor  in  the  Ancient  University  of  Erfurt :  Schleissin- 
gen,  1636."  The  author  will  be  remembered  by  many  readers  by  his 
hymn,  "Jerusalem,  thou  lofty  builded  city,"  and  by  his  two  works 
"  On  the  Heavenly  Jerusalem,"  and  "  On  the  Four  Last  Concerns  of 
Men."  It  may  be  imagined  what  the  feelings  of  one  who  found  such 
pleasure  in  the  great  themes  of  eternity  would  be  in  respect  to  the 
immoral  and  vicious  courses  of  the  students  of  his  university  .f  In  se- 
vere anger  against  it,  he  describes  it  in  the  coarsest  terms,  only  caring 
to  make  his  account  true  and  comprehensive.  His  anger  sometimes 
carries  him  beyond  moderation,  and  even  to  injustice  to  the  Lutheran 
Church  ;  but  the  substantial  truth  of  his  description  of  Pennalism  is 
shown  by  its  agreement  with  those  of  his  con  temporaries/}; 

Although  in  earlier  times  part  of  the  students  lived  immorally,  still 
new-comers  could  easily  avoid  them,  and  follow  their  own  course. 
But  during  the  ascendency  of  Pennalism  this  was  substantially  impos- 
sible, as  appears  by  a  letter  of  the  well  known  Schuppius  to  his  son, 
who  was  about  entering  the  university.  He  says  to  him  :  "  You  may 
imagine  that  at  the  universities  they  sup  clear  wisdom  up  by  spoon- 
fuls, and  that  no  folly  is  to  be  seen  in  any  corner,  but  when  you  come 
there,  you  must  be  a  fool  for  the  first  year.  You  know  that  I  have 
spared  no  pains  or  money  upon  you,  and  that  you  have  not  grown  up 
behind  your  father's  stove,  but  that  I  have  carried  you  about  from  one 
place  to  another,  and  that  already  a  great  lord  has  looked  upon  you 
with  pleasure  and  given  you  a  place  at  his  table.  But  you  must  for- 
get this.  For  it  is  a  part  of  wisdom  to  be  foolish  with  the  age,  and 
to  give  in  to  its  manners  so  far  as  conscience  will  allow.  Let  yourself 
be  plagued  and  abused  for  this  year,  not  only  in  good  German  but  in 
s^ng.     When  an  old  Wetterauer  or  Yogelsberg  Milk  Cudgel  steps  up 

*  Luchtenius  says  of  Pennalism,  even  in  1611 :  "  It  cannot  be  said  how  it  produces  all  manner 
of  corrupt  ways,  destroys  all  discipline,  and  evidently  cools  down  a  love  of  learning." 
t  Meyfart  was  born  at  Jena  in  1590,  and  died  at  Erfurt  in  1642.  %  Appendix  X 


48  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

and  pulls  your  nose,  let  it  not  appear  singular  to  you ;  endure  it,  and 
harden  yourself  to  it.  ''Olim  meminisse  juvabit?  I  warn  you  faith- 
fully against  becoming  yourself  one  of  the  gang  of  Schorists  after  the 
Pennal  year  is  over."*  Whether  the  son  followed  this  advice  after 
enduring  the  frightful  Pennal  life  for  a  whole  year,  is  very  doubtful. 

"  The  end  of  the  Pennal  year,"  says  Schottgen,  "  was  the  absolution  ; 
in  which  a  member  of  the  whole  Landsmannschaft  'absolved'  them, 
after  the  conclusion  of  the  year,  and  declared  them  real  students.  For 
this  purpose  the  poor  Pennal  was  obliged  first  to  go  round  to  all  the 
members  of  the  Landsmannschaft,  and  request  them  to  permit  him  to 
be  released  from  his  slavery.  If  he  found  grace  in  their  eyes,  he  had 
now  to  furnish  an  absolution  feast.  After  this  he  was  a  student,  and 
there  forthwith  entered  into  him  seven  evil  spirits,  who  made  him 
torment  the  Pennals  just  as  he  had  himself  been  tormented." 

The  various  governments  now  undertook  to  put  an  end  to  these 
evils,  but  after  a  time  they  found  that  successful  efforts  were  impossible 
singly.  For  if  an  ill-conducted  Schorist  were  sent  away  from  Leipzig, 
he  would  go  to  Jena,  and  be  received  with  open  arms  by  his  com- 
panions there.  For  this  reason  several  universities,  as  Wittenberg, 
Konigsberg,  Marburg  and  others,  associated  together  and  made  stat- 
utes in  common  against  the  practice.f  Still  they  accomplished  no 
more  than  other  single  universities  with  their  innumerable  prohibitions 
and  severe  punishments. 

In  1654,  the  German  princes  took  occasion,  at  the  Diet  of  Ratisbon, 
to  procure  the  following  ordinance  :J  "  Whereas  we  have  taken  into 
careful  consideration  the  severe  and  bitter  afflictions,  especially  the 
bloody  and  wearisome  war,  with  which  Almighty  God,  in  his  justice, 
is  disciplining  our  beloved  fatherland  and  the  German  nation,  together 
with  other  neighboring  kingdoms  and  countries,  and  have  still  more 
ripely  considered  the  causes  whereby  these  evils  have  come  upon  a 
^country  and  people  so  remarkably  prosperous,  we  have  found  not  to  be 
the  least,  among  other  fearful  vices  which  have  come  into  vogue  not- 
withstanding both  the  first  and  second  tables  of  the  Ten  Command- 
ments  of  God,  that  most  harmful  and  disorderly  custom  which  has 
crept  into  the  universities  of  Germany,  called  Pennalism ;  by  which 
certain  young  persons,  reckless,  wicked,  evil-trained,  and  neglecting  all 
Christian  discipline,  waylay  in  the  most- scandalous  manner  those  who 
come  from  other  places  to  the  universities  from  trivial-schools,  paeda- 

*  Schuppius1  "Friend  in  Need?  i.  252. 

+  These  statutes  are  given  in  Arnoldt  (1.43S),  and  were  confirmed  by  Elector  George  William. 
(Ibid.  444.)    Schottgen  (p.  140)  givea  the  same  information  from  the  orations  of  Schuppius. 
%  Schottgen,  149. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  49 

gogiums,  or  gymnasiums,  to  acquire  various  learning  in  the  classical 
tongues,  liberal  arts,  philosophy,  or  in  the  higher  faculties,  as  well  as 
those  who  are  born  and  brought  up  in  the  places  where  such  univer- 
sities are, — who  treat  them  barbarously,  not  only  with  insulting  scoffing 
gestures  and  words,  but  with  dishonorable  and  abominable  abuses  and 
blows,  and  often  demand  of  them  such  service  and  waiting  on  as  a  rea- 
sonable master  would  hesitate  to  require  from  the  least  of  his  servants, 
— but  also  oblige  these  new  students,  at  coming  and  going,  and  when- 
ever else  they  choose,  to  furnish  them  with  feasts  and  entertainments ; 
so  that  the  money  which  their  parents,  often  with  the  utmost  difficulty, 
in  these  times,  when  money  is  so  scarce,  have  given  them  to  maintain 
them  through  the  year,  must  be  squandered  in  one  and  another  drink- 
ing-bout and  feast ;  so  that  many  good  minds  are  driven  desperate  by 
such  '  exagitations'  and  '  concussions ;'  and  the  result  is,  that  many  well- 
begun  courses  of  study  are  obstructed,  and  parents  disappointed  in  the 
hopes  they  have  conceived,  as  well  as  the  church,  the  government, 
schools  and  the  commonwealth,  deprived  in  the  most  unjustifiable  man- 
ner of  useful  instruments."* 

But  this  ordinance  in  like  manner  failed  of  its  effect ;  and  successful 
steps  in  the  business  were  only  first  taken  from  1660  to  1662.  Saxony 
was  first ;  Pennalism  being  driven  out  from  her  universities  of  Witten- 
berg, Jena,  and  Leipzig,  by  the  regulation  that  a  student  expelled  from 
one  of  them  for  that  reason,  should  not  be  admitted  into  either  of  the 
others.  This  example  was  followed  by  the  universities  of  Ilelmstadt, 
Giessen,  Altorf,  Rostock,  Frankfurt,  and  Konigsberg.  In  1664,  Elector 
Friedrich  Wilhelm  powerfully  confirmed  the  Konigsberg  anathema 
against  Pennalism,  by  an  edict,  in  which  he  expresses  great  indigna- 
tion against  the  mode  in  which  students  newly  come  to  the  university 
are  "held  in  servitude  for  a  year,"  and  demoralized  through  and 
through.  And  he  adds  :  "  This  vicious  and  disorderly  life  so  well 
pleases  the  Pennals,  that  they  forget  their  freedom,  and  take  so  much 
pleasure  in  their  servitude,  hard  as  it  is,  that  they  not  only  do  not 
shame  to  recognize  this  slavery  by  assuming  disreputable  costumes  and 
other  outward  distinctions  and  disgraces,  but  even  hold  them  a  credit ; 
and  thus  come  to  respect  the  usurped  authority  of  their  disorderly 
seniors  more  than  the  regular  power  of  the  established  academical 
magistracy."! 

It  was  only  after  the  extinction  of  Pennalism,  which  was  finally  de- 
stroyed about  1660,  that  well-meaning  students  could  employ  their 
time  well  at  the  universities.     This  appears  by  the  following  letter 

*  This  ordinance  is  followed  by  the  prohibition  of  Pennalism  issued  by  Duke  Eberhard  of 
Wurtemberg,  in  1655.    (Kllipfel,  1S4  )  t  Arnoldt,  i.  446. 

No.  16.— [Vol.  VI. ,  No.  1.]— 4         4 


50  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

from  Dr.  Haberkorn,  at  Giessen,  to  Dr.  Weller,  April  6,  1661.*  lie 
writes:  "The  condition  of  our  university  since  we  have  utterly  de- 
stroyed  the  Pennal  system,  is  quiet  and  prosperous.  The  number  of 
students  does  not  decrease,  but  increases.  The  ridiculing  and  other 
features  of  the  accursed  Pennalism  have  entirely  ceased,  so  that  I 
hardly  seem  to  be  rector,  although  I  yet  hold  that  office.  Many  pa- 
rents thank  God  with  uplifted  hands,  and  wish  our  university  much  of 
the  divine  blessing.  I  remember  to  have  earnestly  urged  your  high- 
worthiness,  at  Frankfurt,  to  push  your  efforts  to  banish  this  hell-hound 
out  of  all  the  universities  in  the  Roman  Empire ;  but  that  in  spite  of 
all  the  pains  that  could  be  taken,  it  could  not  be  done.  Now,  how- 
ever, I  doubt  not  your  high-worthiness  will  make  use  of  your  great  in- 
fluence and  good  fortune,  to  banish  this  deviltry  at  least  out  of  the 
Saxon  universities.  For  our  example  shows  clearly  that  the  object  is 
proved  practicable,  and  that  the  devil  will  fail  of  his  purpose,  however 
much  pains  he  takes  to  maintain  his  kingdom  of  Pennalism." 

To  return  once  more  to  the  history  of  that  vile  custom.  It  has  been 
observed  that  the  old  practice  of  the  Deposition  may  have  given  rise 
to  Pennalism,  and  that  it  was  made  a  cloak  for  it;  and  also,  that 
thoroughly  organized  societies  of  students  made  opposition  to  all  dis- 
cipline, and  this  not  only  in  single  universities,  but  that  there  existed 
a  league  embracing  several  of  them,  which  prevented  the  operation 
even  of  the  severest  regulations. 

These  societies  we  have  referred  to  as  "nations;"  but  they  had 
nothing  in  common  with  the  "  nations"  of  an  earlier  period.  The  lat- 
ter, as  we  have  seen,  were  openly  established  and  recognized  corpora- 
tions, who  elected  procurators,  took  part  in  the  government  of  the 
university,  &c. ;  whereas  the  "nations"  of  the  17th  century  corre- 
sponded to  the  "  Land  smannschaf ten."  \  This  is  clearly  shown  by  a 
"  programme"  issued  by  the  University  of  Leipzig  in  1654,  at  expelling 
a  vSchorist.  "From  this,"  says  SchottgenJ  "we  see  that  the  Schorists 
had  their  '  nations,'  and  in  them  seniores,  Jisci,  and  a  fiscal  officer ; 
that  they  had  a  correspondence  with  other  universities,  and  that  when 
one  university  would  endure  one  of  their  number  no  longer,  they  pro- 

*  Schottgen,  111. 

t  It  has  been  stated  that  Duke  Rudolph  organized  four  "  nations"  at  the  University  of  Vienna, 
M  having  taken  that  of  Paris  for  a  model.  Each  of  these  included  students  from  the  most  dif- 
ferent and  distant  countries :— e.  g.,  the  Saxon  nation  included  Treves,  Bremen,  and  Prussia. 
The  Landamanrtschaften,  on  the  other  hand,  belonged  to  the  countries  after  which  they  wero 
named.  Thus,  in  the  17th  century,  at  Tubingen,  the  students  from  Hohenlohe  organized  the 
New  Wiirtomberg  Land ' smannachafl ;  those  of  Ulm  the  Danubia;  those  of  Old  Wiirtemberg 
the  Wiirtembergia,  and  the  Swiss  the  Helvetia.    (KlUpfel,  293.) 

X  Schciltgen,  103.  The  "  nations"  thus  broken  up  at  Leipzig,  had  no  relation  whatever  to  the 
four  old  "  nations"  which  existed  from  the  foundation  of  the  university  until  1830. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  51 

vided  for  him  elsewhere ;  that  they  held  those  dishonorable  who  re- 
vealed any  matter  to  the  authorities,  and  persecuted  them  everywhere." 
From  a  similar  document  of  November  13,  1659,  we  see  in  still  greater 
detail,  "that  each  'nation'  had  its  seniors,  directors,  fiscal  department, 
and  even  its  beadles,  who  held  their  offices  by  turns,  some  for  a  longer 
and  some  for  a  shorter  time.  New-comers  had  to  submit  to  be  *  in- 
scribed' in  one  of  these.  They  were  cited  before  the  Schorists,  and 
their  cases  adjudicated ;  and  every  one  who  according  to  this  tribunal 
was  guilty  of  any  thing,  was  fined  in  money  or  in  an  entertainment. 
Any  one  who  told  tales  out  of  school,  or  went  to  the  authorities  to 
complain,  was  held  dishonorable." 

What  a  devilish  sort  of  authority  the  "seniors"  of  these  nations 
practiced,  appears  from  an  example  given  by  Schottgen.*  In  1639  a 
student  named  Holdorff  complained  to  the  prorector  at  Rostock,  that 
"  as  his  Pennal  year  was  out  some  days  since,  and  he  was  required  to 
proceed  to  Copenhagen  to  enter  into  an  employment  there,  he  had 
gone  to  Hopner,  as  senior  of  his  nation,  and  had  asked  to  be  absolved. 
He  answered,  however,  that  it  had  been  decided  in  the  nation  that  he 
must  stay  six  weeks  over  his  year ;  and  therefore  he  required  him  to 
stay.  He  went  to  him  again  and  asked  amicably  that  he  might  be 
absolved  ;  to  which  Hopner  answered  that  he  must  remain,  and  should  ; 
and  that  if  he  did  not  complete  his  year,  and  six  weeks,  six  days,  six 
hours,  and  six  minutes  besides,  he  would  be  sent  for.  He  asked  him  a 
third  time  to  absolve  him ;  but  Hopner  answered  no  less  positively 
that  if  he  did  not  stay,  and  went,  he  would  surely  be  sent  for."  Hop- 
ner afterward  cited  Holdorff*  before  him,  and  because  for  fright  he  did 
-not  appear,  that  senior  and  four  others  broke  into  his  lodgings  at  night 
with  drawn  swords. 

As  the  tyranny  of  Pennalism  was  based  on  these  nations,  and  oper- 
ated by  means  of  them,  Elector  Friedrich  Wilhelm,  in  the  rescript 
already  quoted,  ordains  with  great  justice,  "that  the  most  injurious 
system  of  Pennalism,  as  well  as  the  national  organizations,  shall  be 
wholly  broken  up  and  destroyed."!  The  truth  of  the  further  allega- 
tion in  the  same  rescript,  viz.,  that  Pennals  have  become  so  corrupted 
by  their  disorderly  life  that  they  have  forgotten  their  freedom,  and 
take  pride  in  their  severe  servitude,  appears  from  the  following  fact. 
When  the  Elector  of  Saxony's  ordinance  against  Pennalism  in  Leipzig 
was  published  in  1661,  "  more  than  two  hundred  Pennals  got  together, 


*  P.  94.    Schottgen  took  the  account  from  a  university  protocol. 

t  Arnoldt,  i.  44S.  The  attempt  made  by  the  University  of  Konigsberg,  In  1670,  to  legalize  four 
nations— Pomeranian,  Silesian,  Prussian,  and  Westphalian— and  to  exercise  authority  over  them, 
failed.     Arnolds  i.  261. 


52  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

and  foolishly  swore  to  adhere  to  the  practice  of  Pennalism,  and  uot 
permit  it  to  perish.     They,  however,  soon  thought  better  of  it."* 

But  were  these  associations  destroyed,  together  with  Pennalism,  in 
the  year  1662  ?  By  no  means.  We  shall  see  that  the  Burschenschaft 
substantially  put  an  end  to  Pennalism,  although  it  may  be  said  to  have 
continued  to  exist  in  the  Landsmannschaften,  but  not  in  its  earlier 
coarse  and  abominable  phase. 

VI.    HlSTOUY    OF    THE    UNIVERSITIES     IN    THE    EIGHTEENTH    CeNTUUY. 

A.  Nationalism. — The    Landsmannschaften. 

Pennalism,  as  we  have  seen,  was  based  upon  the  national  organiza- 
tions. When  it  was  suppressed,  in  the  year  1662,  it  was  asked 
whether  it  was  extirpated  from  the  roots,  or,  in  other  words,  whether 
these  organizations  also  were  suppressed  ?  The  answer  given  was,  by  no 
means.  It  is,  however,  not  easy  to  substantiate  this  answer  by  facts. 
The  national  organizations  being  strictly  forbidden,  it  was  necessary  to 
conceal  their  existence  by  all  possible  means.  The  statutes  of  one  of 
the  Landsmannschaften,  for  example,  provide  that  a  new  member,  at 
his  entrance,  shall  give  his  word  of  honor  u  that  he  will  never  reveal 
what  happens  at  any  time  within  the  society,  that  he  will  always  be 
diligently  watchful  against  renouncers  (students  belonging  to  no  so- 
ciety), and  will  never  reveal  that  such  a  society  exists,  and  will  even 
endeavor  to  cause  the  contrary  to  be  believed.  But  in  case  he  shall 
be  seriously  questioned  on  the  subject  by  the  police  or  the  rector,  he 
must  lie  stoutly,  and  be  willing  to  give  up  his  existence  at  the  univer- 
sity for  the  sake  of  the  society."* 

In  such  secrecy,  it  is  natural  that  the  Landsmannschaften,  as  long 
as  they  were  prohibited,  should  come  to  light  only  occasionally.  We 
will  give  a  few  examples. 

In  1682,  twenty  years  after  the  suppression  of  Pennalism,  there 
arose  a  great  tumult  of  the  students  in  Leipzig,  upon  the  prohibition 
of  the  national  organizations  by  an  electoral  rescript,  and  it  required 
the  severest  penalties  to  carry  out  the  rule.f 

In  1717  there  arose,  all  at  once,  at  Halle,  a  multitude  of  Lands- 
mannschaften ;  Meiners  names  twelve.  They  chose  seniors  and  sub- 
seniors,  and  openly  wore  colors  as  marks  of  distinction,  as  those  of  the 
Marches  of  Pomerania,  &c.  These  associations  were  immediately 
prohibited  by  a  royal  rescript^ 

The  Landsmannschaften  were  forbidden  at  Rostock  §  in   1750,  at 

*  Haupt,  204.  t  Gretschel,  274. 

$  Meiners  {History,  iv.  103)  says  that  tliese  associations  were  in  fact  suppressed.    But  qucere. 

§Ib.  pp.  163-174. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  53 

Jena  in  1705  and  1778,  at  Kiel  in  1774,  at  Gottingen  in  1762,  at  Er- 
furt in  1794,  in  Prussia  and  at  Altorf  in  consequence  of  the  decree  of 
the  diet  of  1795.  In  1810,  when  the  Burschenschaft  was  organized, 
Landsmannschaften  existed  in  most  of  the  universities,  and  a  contest 
took  place  between  them  and  the  Burschenschaft. 

From  two  of  these  academical  prohibitions,  it  appears  that  Pennal- 
ism  still  survived  in  the  Landsmannschaften.  Thus  the  Rostock  law 
of  1850  says:  "Pennalism,  that  barbarous  custom,  barbarously  named, 
having  been  driven  into  exile  from  our  universities,  for  their  good,  let 
Nationalism  also,  with  the  evils  which  come  with  it,  be  put  away  from 
our  course  of  education.  Therefore,  if  any  one  shall  attempt  to  set  on 
foot  any  thing  either  of  the  name,  or  the  thing  itself,  who  shall  assume 
the  title  of  senior,  .  .  who  shall  subject  to  himself  new-comers  or 
others,  or  annoy  them,  or  shall  exact  money  from  them,  even  a  penny, 
him  we  shall  estimate  altogether  unfit  to  be  a  member  of  this 
academy." 

The  law  of  the  University  of  Kiel,  of  1774,  is  still  more  severe: 
"Any  one  daring  to  introduce  or  establish  the  infamous  custom  of 
Pennalism,  condemned  and  proscribed  by  all  good  and  wise  persons, 
or  to  call  together  seditious  assemblies,  or  to  set  up  the  national  socie- 
ties, or  to  annoy  students  lately  come  to  the  university,  by  the  exac- 
tion of  money,  or  entertainments,  or  other  unjust  treatment,  shall  be 
subjected  to  penalties,  to  be  determined  in  each  case,  and  shall  be  put 
away,  as  an  enemy  and  traitor  to  the  university." 

That  Pennalism  still  prevailed  in  Gottingen,  appears  from  a  rescript 
of  Miinchhausen  to  the  university,  of  1757;  which  directs  care  to 
be  taken,  "that  neither  shall  newly  arrived  students,  by  the  post  or 
other  conveyance,  be  made  sport  of;  nor  shall  such  students  as  use,  for 
their  own  pleasure,  to  form  the  acquaintance  of  new-comers,  and  to 
that  end  to  put  themselves  in  their  way,  obtain  them  lodgings  and 
strike  up  friendships  with  them,  be  permitted  to  practice  such  pie- 
sumptuous  means  of  corrupting  young  persons.''* 

Elupfelf  gives  a  striking  sketch  of  the  Landsmannschaften  or  Corps. 

"Each  Corps,"  he  says,  "is  divided  into  regular  and  irregular  members, 
Corps-burschen,  and  Renoncen.  Only  the  former  are  full  members  of  the  associa- 
tion, and  form  its  nucleus  ;  the  others,  as  their  name  indicates,  are  such  as  do 
not  claim  full  members'  rights,  but  attach  themselves  to  the  Corps  for  the  sake 
of  its  protection  and  influence.  In  like  manner  the  Renoncen  are  in  a  sort  of 
novitiate,  where  every  one  wishing  to  join  the  Corps  has  to  remain  for  a  time, 

*  Meiners,  ii.  210. 

+  Pp.  293-398.  It  must  be  understood  that  Kliipfel's  description  does  not  apply  equally  to  all 
the  Corps  (Landsmannschaften  National  Societies),  and  much  less  to  all  their  individual  mem- 
bers. I  know  very  estimable  persons,  and  myself  had  excellent  pupils,  belonging  to  Corps  of 
the  better  sort.    But  this  does  not  impair  the  general  correctness  of  his  picture. 


54  TIIK    GKRMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

until  he  can  claim  full  membership.  Admission  is  attended  with  certain  cere- 
monies, frequently  with  a  sort  of  catcchisatiou  on  the  Comment  and  principles  of 
the  association,  the  attaching  a  ribbon,  the  communication  of  the  cipher  of  the 
association,  and  the  kiss  of  brotherhood.  At  the  head  of  the  organization,  and 
chosen  from  among  members,  for  one  year,  stands  a  senior,  a  consenior,  a 
secretary,  and  a  number  of  special  committeemen  (weitere  Ciiargirte),  propor- 
tioned to  that  of  the  members.  All  these  together  constitute  the  council, 
which  resolves  absolutely  upon  all  matters  connected  with  the  Corps,  attends 
to  its  connections  abroad,  presides  at  its  regular  festivals,  and  to  which  the 
unconditional  obedience  of  every  member  is  due.  Each  Corps  has,  besides, 
minor  distinctive  peculiarities,  to  which  it  is  a  point  of  importance  to  adhere 
without  variation.  The  various  Corps  are  connected  together  by  their  com- 
mon object  of  maintaining  the  Comment,0  and  of  keeping  up  their  fantastic 
and  brilliant  phase  of  student-life.  The  co-operation  necessary  for  these  pur- 
poses is  kept  up  by  the  convention  of  seniors,  and  the  convention  of  committee- 
men. These  hold  the  place  of  supreme  authority  among  the  students,  and 
seek  to  maintain  their  position  by  means  of  the  rule,  that  every  student  who 
would  have  a  voice  in  public  matters  must  belong  to  an  association  and  act 
through  his  Senior ;  that  the  Convention  of  Seniors  alone  shall  give  laws, 
direct  festivals,  and  put  forth  decisions  ;  and  that  any  one  opposing  its  deter- 
minations or  disobeying  its  decisions  on  points  of  honor,  &c,  shall,  by  so  doing, 
incur  the  condemnation  of  iufamy. 

"  From  these  societies,  and  among  them,  there  grew  into  existence  a  kind 
of  student  life,  social  among  its  members,  and  jovial  to  others.  Their  mem- 
bers had  frequently  been  friends  at  the  inferior  schools  ;  each  upheld  all,  and 
all  each  :  the  consciousness  of  belonging  to  an  organization  gave  a  certain  con- 
fidence and  freedom  to  their  manners  ;  prominent  and  favorite  persons,  such 
as  every  Corps  contained,  planted  and  cherished  a  cheerful  and  bold  spirit. 
At  the  same  time,  each  society  strove  to  outdo  the  rest  in  the  splendor  and 
solemnity  of  their  society  and  anniversary  feasts ;  and  there  was  always  a  mag- 
nificent display  when  whole  Corps,  with  all  their  dependents,  met  at  some  fes- 
tival, and  the  society  colors  vied  with  each  other  in  display. 

"But  dangerous  and  grievous  harms  began  to  show  themselves,  derived 
from  the  Corps  organ ization. 

"The  Circuli  Fralrum,  or  circles  of  brothers,  were  intended  to  be  societies  of 
intellectually  educated  young  men,  of  an  age  most  susceptible  to  lofty  ideas, 
and  who  were  summoned  to  mental  growth  in  an  atmosphere  such  as,  when 
kept  in  motion  by  the  flights  of  genius,  will  stimulate  the  noblest  powers. 
But  these  circles  became  too  exclusively  mere  open  convivial  societies  of  good- 
fellows,  aiming  chiefly  at  pleasure,  and  very  often  at  exceedingly  material 
pleasures,  without  any  higher  purpose,  or  broad  and  inspiriting  beliefs.  This 
emptiness  and  insipidity  must,  of  course,  very  soon  become  irksome  to  intel- 
lects and  spirits  of  the  higher  class.  These  would  not  suffer  themselves  to  be 
hidden  under  showy  externals  and  pompous  public  appearances.  The  brother- 
hood among  the  brethren  of  the  societies,  which  was  held  upas  one  of  the  chief 
aims  of  the  organization,  was  not  always  that  true  friendship  so  delightful  to 
the  hearts  of  the  young,  which  forms  a  basis  for  lifelong  associations,  although 
the  Corps-statutes  expressly  prescribe  such  ;  for  the  real  basis  of  friendship 
was  frequently  wanting,  namely,  true  respect,  arising  from  noble  aims  and 
goodness  of  character.  The  Corps  was  altogether  unfit  to  be  a  school  for  such 
virtues  ;  the  system  of  subordination  to  the  seniors  was  opposed  to  noble  im- 
pulses. The  ambition  of  becoming  one  of  that  number  perverted  and  destroyed 
friendship.  The  less  the  interest  felt  in  intellectual  things,  so  much  the 
greater  was  the  power  of  sensual  influences;  ami  the  principle  adopted  by  the 
Corps,  that  the  private  life  of  a  member  was  no  concern  of  the  whole  body,  as 
long  as  he  did  not  endanger  what  the  Comment  held  as  their  honor,  inclined 
towards  a  tolerance  in  respect  to  morals  which  was  only  too  well  adapted 
shamefully  to  pervert  the  moral  perceptions  of  a  young  man,  and  to  lead  him 
off  into  a  vicious  course  of  sensual  and  dissolute  indulgence  in  which  many  have 
been  ruined,  but  from  which  the  Corps,  as  such,  never  saved  one. 

"  The  state  of  feeling  within  these  societies  may  be  judged  of  from  the  pro- 

*  A  sort  of  constitution. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  55 

visions  in  the  statutes  and  the  Comment,  which  require  that  any  member  hav- 
ing a  venereal  disease  shall  notify  the  fact  at  the  beer-house  (Kneipe),  and  shall 
suffer  a  penalty  if  he  fight  a  duel  while  ill.  It  is  demonstrable,  also,  that  the 
Corps-festival  often  ended  in  mere  orgies  ;  and  many  unfortunate  and  per- 
verted youth  were  first  induced  to  procure  membership  and  standing  in  socie- 
ties for  the  sake  of  their  vicious  indulgences.  At  Tubingen,  it  has  happened 
that  a  whole  Corps  has  become  corrupted.  This  same  low  condition  of  morals 
is  indicated  more  and  more  by  the  meetings  at  the  Kneipe,  where  the  beer- 
laws  {Bier-Comment)  were  so  easily  made  an  instrument  of  vulgar  drunkenness, 
and  where  the  abilities  of  honor,  as  well  of  individual  members  of  the  same 
Corps,  as  of  the  different  Corps  themselves,  was  determined  by  the  standard  of 
their  capacity  for  drinking,  whose  highest  grade,  that  of  Beer-king,  was  given 
for  the  ability  to  dispose  of  eighty  pints  (schoppen). 

"  With  this  coarseness  and  even  vulgarity  of  tone,  which  soon  prevailed  in 
the  Corps,  was  connected  the  misuse  of  the  Comment  as  a  stimulus  to  duel- 
ing, and  the  bullying  (pauksucht)  and  '  renowning '  which  were  its  consequen- 
ces. No  one  was  thought  honorable  except  such  as  were  ready  to  give 
satisfaction  on  the  dueling-ground  ;  and  he  was  a  jolly  respectable  Bursch, 
and  the  pride  of  his  society  was  such  a  one  as  had  already  fought  many  duels, 
and  was  known  as  a  keen  and  powerful  swordsman.  To  become  such  was  the 
aim  of  their  ambition.  Quarreling,  insults,  provoking  conduct,  a  touchiness 
carried  so  far  as  to  be  ridiculous,  and  innumerable  duels  were  the  consequence. 
To  make  up  the  full  number  of  a  hundred  duels  was  the  only  ambition  of 
many  students  ;  and  while  learned  studies  suffered  in  this  state  of  things, 
social  life  was  an  unpleasant  existence  upon  a  continual  war-footing,  in  which 
those  unacquainted  with  weapons  were  entirely  defenseless.  Indeed,  to  behave 
toward  these  last  in  a  manner  usually  reckoned  utterly  dishonorable,  was  no 
prejudice  to  the  honor  of  a  Bursch,  and  to  break  one's  word  of  honor  to  a  Phi- 
lister  was  only  a  matter  of  sport.  The  societies  were  also  in  a  state  of  constant 
excitement  and  irritation  against  each  other.  The  privilege  of  changing 
freely  from  one  Corps  to  another  availed  nothing  ;  for  any  one  who  had  in- 
sulted one,  was  obliged,  before  he  could  enter  another,  to  fight  duels  all  round 
with  the  former  ;  nor  could  a  new  Corps  establish  itself  on  a  received  footing 
except  by  fighting  itself  into  recognition.  A  continual  rivalry,  also,  gave 
abundance  of  occasion  for  constant  quarrels,  which  ended  in  duels  for  the 
honor  of  each  man's  country  ;  in  which  every  member  of  the  Corps,  as  the  lot 
or  the  decision  of  the  senior  should  determine,  was  obliged  to  fight  for  the 
honor  of  the  society.  In  this  manner  it  came  to  pass,  lastly,  that  the  whole 
body  of  students  were,  by  means  of  the  Corps,  only  divided  into  larger  parties  ; 
and  that  much  the  largest  number  had  to  submit  to  be  tyrannized  over  by  a 
minority  of  the  members  of  the  Corps,  and  even  by  a  still  smaller  number, 
namely,  the  Convention  of  Seniors,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  constituted 
by  no  means  of  the  most  respectable,  but  only  of  the  most  bullying  of  the 
students." 

With  this  description  of  Klupfel's  may  be  compared  the  Comments 
of  two  of  the  Corps,  given  in  the  Appendix,  and  agreeing  entirely  with 
him.*  The  Comment  treats  chiefly  of  honor,  how  it  may  be  pre- 
served, attacked,  and  regained  when  lost.  The  sword  is  the  talisman 
of  honor.  Accordingly,  much  of  the  Comment  discusses  the  duel,  and 
how  it  may  be  occasioned  and  fought.  Nothing  is  said  of  good 
morals ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  more  than  one  paragraph  betrays  how 
low  was  the  condition  of  the  Corps  in  this  respect,  and  proves  only  too 
clearly  the  truth  of  Klupfel's  description. 

This  author  cites,  in  another  place,  the  technical  terms  of  the  societies. 
The  Comment  defines  the  names  Fox,  Braudfox,  Young  Bursch,  Old 

*  See  Appendix  III. 


56  TIIK    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

Bursch,  Mossy  Head.*  "Every  student  not  a  member  of  a  society  is 
a  reuouncer."  One  not  holding  himself  subject  to  the  Comment  was 
a  "savage"  or  a  "finch,"  and  on  such,  when  opportunity  offered,  pun- 
ishment was  inflicted  with  a  whip  or  a  stick. 

"The  Comment,"  observes  Klupfel,  "was  probably  modeled  upon 
the  ceremonial  of  the  later  chivalry  and  court  life,  as  developed  at  the 
court  of  Louis  XIV.  Most  of  the  French  technical  terms  used  in  it 
are  from  this  source."f  Such  words,  in  part  in  distorted  forms,  are 
numerous;  including  Comment,  Comment  suspendu,  Satisfaction, 
Avantage,  Touche,  Secundieren,  Renommieren,  Benonce,  Maltraitionen, 
Chargierte,  (fecj  According  to  Klupfel,  the  rapier  with  the  plate- 
shaped  guard  came  also  from  France.§ 

After  the  period  of  the  dominion,  and  indeed  tyranny,  of  the  Lands- 
mannschaften,  in  the  German  universities,  dating  from  the  sixteenth 
century,  there  arose  against  them,  in  succession,  two  violent  adversa- 
ries;  first  the  Students'  Orders,  and  afterwards  the  Burschenschaft. 
The  latter,  as  we  have  seen,  definitely  put  an  end  to  Penualism. 

B.  Students'  Orders. 

These  arose  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  first 
prohibition  of  them  appeared  at  Gottingen,  in  1748,  and  was  repeated 
in  1*760  and  1762. ||  In  the  latter  year  appears  the  first  trace  of  the 
same  at  Erlangen,^[  in  1765**  at  Tubingen  ;  in  the  same  year,  1765,  ap- 
peared the  first  prohibition  of  them  at  Jena,  and  another  in  l767.ff 
A  third  came  out  in  1795,  in  connection  with  an  imperial  edict  against 
secret  societies;  and  a  similar  one  was  then  issued  in  the  Prussian 
universities  and  at  Altdorf.JJ  In  1802,  Meiners  announces,  with  sat- 
isfaction, of  Gottingen,§§  that  "it  is  now  some  years  since  the  strictest 
inquiry  could  detect  any  of  the  orders  at  our  university ;"  although  he 
naively  adds,  in  a  note,  that  "  within  a  very  short  period  traces  of  an 
order  have  been  discovered."  An  accident,  as  I  myself  remember,  led 
to  this  discovery.     A  student  was  drowned,  and  in  sealing  up  his 

*  Comment  (App.  III.),  §  16-22.  For  Fox,  was  used,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  Feux. 
Schiittgen's  very  full  list  of  nicknames  of  Pennals  contains  no  other  now  used.  The  name 
Schorists,  for  students  who  have  passed  through  their  Pennal  year,  has  also  gone  out  of  use. 

t  Klupfel,  182.  %  Butmann  would  even  derive  Verschiss  (dishonor),  from  verjus. 

§  KHipfel,  1S4.  The  opinion  of  those  who  find,  in  the  present  students'  duels,  a  trace  of  the 
mediaeval  German  chivalry,  is  contradicted  by  Kliipfel's  view,  which  is  certainly  correct,  of 
their  French  origin.  There  is  a  difference  as  wide  as  the  heavens  between  a  chevalier  of  the 
time  of  Louis  XIV.  and  a  German  Bitter  of  the  time  of  Hohenstaufen  ;  and  as  much  between  a 
duel  upon  a  point  of  honor  and  a  decision  of  God  by  means  of  a  joust. 

3  Meiners,  "  Constitution  and  Administration  of  the  German  Universities,"1  ii.  290. 

^  Englehardt,  177.  **  Kliipfel,  279.  ft  Meiners,  ■  History;'  &c,  iv.  169. 

*t  Ibid.,  174  §§  Meiners,  "  Constitution;'1  &c,  ii.  802. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  57 

effects,  a  list  was  found  of  names  of  members  (Konstantisten).  Thus 
the  orders  lasted  until  the  first  years  of  the  nineteenth  century.  At 
the  time  of  the  rise  of  the  Burschenschaft  (1816),  they  seem  to  have 
disappeared.  I  find  no  record  of  any  contest  of  the  Burschenschaft 
with  the  orders,  but  only  against  the  Landsmannschaften. 

What  distinction  existed  between  these  Orders  and  the  Landsmann- 
schaften or  Nations  ?  There  must  have  been  one,  because  they  were 
always  at  enmity.  Meiners  says  that  they  had  much  in  common  in 
their  organization,  and  that  the  orders  differed  from  the  Landsmann- 
schaften "  only  in  that  they  admitted  members  without  regard  to  their 
nationality."  This  was,  it  is  true,  one  distinction,  but  not  the  only 
one ;  a  second  was,  the  adoption  by  the  orders  of  symbols  analogous 
to  those  of  the  Free  Masons.  Thus,  there  were  found,  in  1765,  "traces 
of  a  lodge  of  Free  Masons  among  the  students  at  Tubingen."  Kliipfel 
says,  "  most  of  the  orders  in  the  universities  were  off-shoots  of  Free 
Masonry."*  In  like  manner,  Englehardt  saysf  that  the  Order  of  the 
Cross,  founded  in  1762,  was  organized  throughout  in  the  forms  of 
Free  Masonry.  "In  the  place  of  assembly  of  the  order,  there  was  a 
basin  with  water,  whose  symbolic  meaning  was  explained  to  those 
initiated ;  a  statue  of  friendship,  and  one  of  virtue,  skulls,  a  cross  of 
the  older,  with  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  and  a  crucifix."  The  university 
senate  reported,  in  1767,  that  it  had  taken  away  some  insignia  of  an 
order  from  some  students,  and  that  the  orders,  in  spite  of  prohibitions, 
were  universal,  both  in  Erlangen  and  the  other  German  universities, 
and  that  scarcely  a  student  could  be  found  who  did  not  belong  to  an 
order. 

In  1770  the  Order  of  Coopers  was  discovered,  which  held  lodges, 
had  degrees,  and  had  a  destructive  influence.^  The  Black  Order,  or 
Order  of  Harmony,  arose  in  1771,  at  Erlangen,  and  had  members  in 
Nuremberg  and  Coburg.  Its  grand  lodge  was  in  Brunswick.  In 
1797  were  found  in  the  papers  of  this  order  catechisms  of  the  first, 
second,  and  third  grades,  with  symbols  having  an  euliical  signification. 
**  The  ceremonies  of  admission  were  adopted  from  the  Free  Masons, 
with  whom  the  Black  Order  seems  to  have  maintained  very  friendly 
relations.  The  statutes  of  this  order  named  Pythagoras  as  their  first 
known  master."  So  much  will  serve  to  describe  this  order  as  such ; 
and  it  also  appears  that  they  were  not  confined  to  the  universities,  nor 
to  students.  The  same  was  the  case  with  the  Constantists,  who  existed 
at  Halle  in  1786,  and  had  afterward  (about  1798),  members  in  civil 
and  military  stations  at  Berlin.     Their  laws  seem  to  have  included 


Kliipfel,  280.  t  Englehardt,  178.  %  lb.,  ISO,  183,  1  SI. 


58  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

the  reckless  Jacobinical  religious  and  political  opinions;  and  the 
Prussian  ministry  believed  "  that  the  revolutionists  sought  to  make 
use  of  the  students  in  their  designs."* 

From  the  foregoing,  it  seems  that  the  orders  were  especially  active 
in  the  second  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  only  lasted  into  the 
first  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  ;  that  they  were  entirely  distinct 
from  the  Landsmannschaften,  having  no  regard  for  nationality,  as  the 
latter  did ;  having  also  symbols  and  degrees,  and  being  in  connection 
with  orders  outside  the  universities;  neither  of  which  was  the  case 
with  the  Landsmannschaften.  Considering  the  existence  of  so  essen- 
tial differences,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  two  organizations 
were  in  a  state  of  bitter  enmity. 


'©' 


VII.  History  of  the  Universities  in  the  Nineteenth  Century. 
Introduction. — My  own  Academical  Experience. 

From  the  description  of  the  Landsmannschaft  and  orders,  I  might  pass 
at  once  to  the  Burschenschaft.  But  the  question  might  justly  be  asked, 
Were  there  not,  in  these  earlier  times,  some  students  who  did  not  belong 
to  these  orders ;  or  would  it  not  be  worth  while  to  consider  them  { 
There  certainly  were  many  such  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  find  much  in- 
formation about  them,  for  the  very  reason  that  they  did  not  swear  to 
any  standards  or  emblems,  nor  were  organized  as  an  associated  body, 
under  common  statutes.  They  did  not,  however,  live  in  entire  isola- 
tion, but  in  friendly  circles ;  and  they  were  united  by  a  friendship  which 
needed  no  statutes.  These  circles,  moreover,  had  a  very  definite  char- 
acter :  a  common  ideal,  common  labor,  endeavors  after  a  common 
purpose. 

I  have  known  several  such  circles,  and  have  belonged  to  them.  It 
appeared  to  me  that  a  simple  description  of  my  own  student-life 
will  afford  a  more  lively  picture  of  such  a  circle,  than  to  give  an 
abstract  characte:iz;ition  of  them. 

But  the  idea  carried  me  further.  Why  should  I,  I  asked,  confine 
myself  to  my  experience  as  a  student  ?  Why  not  add  that  of  my  life 
as  a  professor  ? 

I  entered  the  university  in  the  first  year  of  this  century,  1801,  and 
from  that  time  to  1854,  with  comparatively  small  intervals,  I  have 
lived  in  the  German  universities.  Having  been  a  professor  since  1811, 
I  have,  as  such,  stood  in  close  personal  relations  with  the  students, 
and  have  taken  sincere  and  active  interest  in  their  weal  and  woe. 

I  give,  therefore,  after  ripe  consideration,  an  account  of  all  that  was 

*  The  Jena  ordinance  against  the  Orders,  in  1767,  names  the  Orders  of  Hope  (Esperance), 
that  of  Concord  or  of  the  Cross,  the  Coopers",  and  that  of  the  Lilies. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  59 

important  in  my  academical  life  and  experience,  in  chronological 
order ;  having  had  excellent  opportunities  of  consulting  the  best  oral 
and  written  sources,  and  testimony  on  the  spot,  as  to  matters  at  a 
distance,  and  having  observed  the  influence  of  whatever  happened, 
upon  the  university  where  I  might  happen  to  be  at  the  time. 

A.  Going  to  Halle,  in  1799. 
Preliminary  View, 
Fifty-five  years  have  passed  since  my  first  glance  into  university-life. 
I  had  left  the  Joachimsthal  Gymnasium,  at  Berlin,  and  was  going  to 
visit  my  elder  brother,  Friederiek,  then  a  student  at  Halle.  He,  and 
other  previous  school-fellows,  took  me  with  them  to  the  lectures. 
There  I  heard,  for  the  first  time,  F.  A.  Wolf,  whose  lecture-room  was 
crowded  full,  and  who  made  a  profound  impression  upon  me.  I 
thought  it  very  singular,  during  the  lectures  of  Master  Gute  on  Isaiah, 
to  hear  the  poor  old  man  every  moment  interrupted  by  "  Pst !"  on 
which,  according  to  the  custom,  he  was  obliged  to  repeat  what  he  had 
been  saving.  I  also  visited  the  figrhtino--rooms,  where  I  was  intro- 
duced  to  the  greatest  fighter  and  bully  for  the  time  being.  He  was  a 
great  stout  Bursch,  in  very  simple  costume — shirt,  drawers,  monstrous 
pantaloons,  and  on  his  head  a  lofty  sturmer,  i.  e.,  a  three-cornered  hat, 
with  one  corner  brought  forward  to  protect  his  eyes.  This  ogre  made 
such  an  impression  upon  me,  that  I  was  at  the  trouble,  some  years 
afterward,  of  inquiring  what  had  become  of  him.  I  found  that  he 
had  become  tutor  in  the  family  of  a  miller,  where  he  had  every  thing 
free,  and  a  fixed  daily  allowance  of  nine  pots  of  beer.  There  could 
scarcely  be  a  greater  contrast  than  after  this  visit  to  the  fighting- room, 
an  excursion  which  I  took  on  the  Saale  by  moonlight,  in  listening  to 
the  melancholy  notes  of  the  French-horn  at  a  distance.  This  short 
visit  to  Halle  was  a  foretaste,  indeed,  of  all  the  pleasures  and  sorrows 
which  I  experienced  there  some  years  later. 

B.    GOTTINGEN. 

Faster,  1801,  to  Faster,  1803. 

I  left  the  Gymnasium  at  Easter,  1801,  and  went,  in  company  with 
my  friend,  now  Privy  Councillor  of  Finance,  Sotzmann,  to  Gottingen, 
by  way  of  Thuringia. 

We  passed  through  Weimar.  JIow  glorified,  to  my  youthful  imagi- 
nation, did  every  thing  appear  in  this  home  of  the  greatest  genius  of 
Germany !  I  watched  everywhere  for  Goethe,  Schiller,  and  Herder. 
I  had,  however,  only  the  pleasure  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the 
latter,  my  father  having  given  me  a  letter  of  introduction  to  him.     He 


60  TFIJE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

received  me  in  a  very  friendly  manner,  and  invited  me  to  supper, 
where  I  found  Consistory-Councillor  Gunther.  It  may  be  imagined 
how  I  hung  upon  every  word  from  Herder.  Fifty-three  years  have 
passed  since  that  evening,  but  I  can  yet  hear  his  observations  on  the 
idea  of  character.  As  he  was  in  the  habit  of  doing-  in  his  writings,  he 
did  orally ;  beginning  with  the  word  itself,  as  derived  from  xa?aa^iv^ 
&c.  From  various  remarks  of  Herder  and  Gunther,  I  saw,  with  sor- 
row, that  there  was  a  division  among  the  heroes  of  Weimar ;  a  division 
with  which  I  afterward  became  acquainted  from  Goethe's  "  Truth  and 
Poetry  from  my  Life."  As  I  write  this  title,  I  lose  all  courage  to 
give  a  more  detailed  account  of  Herder,  in  thinking  of  Goethe's  incred- 
ibly correct  and  most  masterly  description  of  him. 

On  arriving  at  Gottingen,  I  took  lodgings  in  the  house  of  an  instru 
ment-inaker  named  Kramer,  which  I  mention  for  a  reason  that  will 
soon  appear. 

My  father  intended  me  for  a  jurist.  I  commenced  my  studies  by 
attending  lectures  on  the  Institutions,  from  Councillor  Waldeck,  taking 
notes  industriously.  At  the  same  time  I  procured  a  book  then  uni-. 
versally  used,  Hopfuer's  Institutions,  and  made  use  of  it  in  studying, 
along  with  my  notes  on  Waldeck's  lectures.  To  my  astonishment,  I  found 
such  an  entire  agreement  between  the  book  and  my  notes,  that  I  gave 
up  taking  notes  at  all,  but  took  Hopfner  to  lectures,  to  follow  along  in 
it.  Unfortunately,  I  sat  pretty  near  the  lecturer's  chair,  and  Waldeck 
espying  my  book,  his  keen  eyes  recognized  it.  To  do  this,  and  to 
break  out  into  the  most  violent  and  pitiless  attacks  upon  Hopfner, 
were  the  work  of  the  same  moment.  My  situation  was  not  the  most 
comfortable,  as  I  had  not  the  remotest  intention  of  provoking  old 
Waldeck.  He  did  not,  however,  lay  it  up  against  me,  but  was  very 
friendly,  when  I  attended  his  lectures  on  the  Pandects,  in  the  winter 
term,  and  afterward  gave  me  an  excellent  testimonial,  earned,  how- 
ever, with  infinite  discomfort.  He  lectured  on  the  Pandects  three 
hours  daily! 

He  belonged  entirely  to  the  old  school  of  jurists;  his  edition  of 
Heineccius'  Compendium  of  the  Institutes  is  now  used  only  at  Coimbra. 

In  the  summer  term  of  1802,  I  attended  the  lectures  on  civil  law  of 
one  who  prepared  the  way  for  the  subsequent  school  of  Savigny — 
namely,  Hugo.  His  lectures,  in  connection  with  which  we  had  ques- 
tions in  jurisprudence  to  solve,  wetre  marked  by  critical  acumen  ; 
and  his  relentless  controversial  powers,  not  seldom  directed  against 
Waldeck  as  a  representative  of  the  old  school,  did  not  at  all  displease 
us.  Hugo  also  wrote  the  sharpest  reviews  in  the  Gottingen  papers, 
otherwise  chiefly  of  a  neutral  character.     I  remember  one  such,  an 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  61 

attack  on  Mai  Wane's  Pandects,  under  which  a  reader  had  written 
u  Hunc  tu  Romane  cavcto."* 

In  11137  fourth  jerm  I  turned  my  attention,  with  my  father's  consent, 
to  political  economy,  attended  Sartorius'  lectures  on  politics,  and 
studied  for  myself,  Smith's  celebrated  work  on  the  Wealth  of  Nations. 
These,  my  professional  studies  at  Gottingen,  I  pursued,  in  truth,  not 
with  much  love  of  them,  but  still  constrained  myself  to  a  considerable 
degree  of  industry. 

In  each  term  I  attended  one  or  two  courses  not  juridical.  Thus, 
for  two  terms  I  attended  the  valuable  mathematical  lectures  of  Thi- 
baut,  brother  of  the  celebrated  jurist;  and  applied  myself  with  the 
greatest  assiduity  to  algebra,  in  which  my  friend  Sotzmann  gave  me  the 
most  faithful  and  patient  assistance. 

At  another  time  I  attended  Blumenbach's  lectures  on  natural  his- 
tory. Most  of  his  hearers  cared  little  for  any  knowledge  of  the  sub- 
ject, but  attended  for  the  amusement  of  the  entertaining  accounts — of 
shaved  bears,  earth-eating  Otoinaks,  &c. — which  he  used  to  narrate 
with  superabundant  humor.  After  the  lecture  we  often  went  to 
Putter's  house,  where  we  were  entertained  with  a  quartette,  in  which 
he  himself  played  first  violin.  The  excellent  old  man  used  to  be 
pleased  to  have  us  for  an  audience. 

I  also  attended  Blumenbach's  lectures  on  mineralogy,  without  hav- 
ing the  remotest  idea  that  I  should  ever  myself  become  a  professor 
of  natural  history  and  mineralogy. 

A  course  by  Fiorillo,  on  the  history  of  art,  was  very  instructive,  al- 
though he  did  not  speak  German  very  correctly.  Thus  he  would 
say,  that  "  in  this  century  there  arose  a  fury  for  spires  ;"f  meaning  a 
passion  for  building  them.  His  principal  subject  was  the  history  of 
painting.  He  described  the  various  schools  of  painting,  and  the  most 
celebrated  artists  of  each  ;  mentioned  the  localities  of  the  chief  works 
of  each  master,  and  exhibited  copper-plates  of  the  most  remarkable. 
In  connection  with  Fiorillo's  course,  I  made  excursions  to  Cassel,  only 
five  miles  distant.  Tischbein,  director  of  the  valuable  collection  of 
paintings  there,  was  very  kind  in  giving  access  to  them.  I  became  quite 
intimate  with  Hummel,  from  Naples,  a  shrewd  and  agreeable  man.]; 
In  Gottingen  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Riepenhausen,  the  engraver 
on  copper.     His  two  sons,  both  known  as  artists,  and  of  whom  one  is 


*  Savigny  has  given  an  excellent  account  of  Hugo. 

t  The  mispronunciation  cannot  be  transferred  to  English. — [T/uns.] 

%  Napoleon  had  the  Cassel  gallery  carried  to  France,  and  its  finest  pictures,  such  as  Claude 
Lorraine's  Four  Hours  of  the  Day,  were  made  over  to  the  Empress  Josephine,  at  Malmaison, 
and  afterward  were  taken  to  St.  Petersburg  by  Alexander. 


62  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

yet  living  at  Rome,  were  my  friends.  Among  the  works  of  the  father 
are  his  widely  known  copies  of  Hogarth's  pictures,  to  which  Lichten- 
berg  wrote  an  explanation.  Eiepeuhausen  possessed  a  treasure  of 
Durer's  engravings,  from  copper  and  wood,  then  valued  only  by  a  very 
few  amateurs,  and  consequently  not  so  costly  a  luxury  as  at  present. 
The  oftener  I  examined  these,  the  more  I  liked  them  ;  and  now  I  can- 
not look  enough  at  the  St.  Jerome,  the  Hubert,  the  Melancholy,  and 
many  others. 

My  elder  brother,  a  student  before  me  in  Gottingen,  was  well  known 
to  Music-director  Forkel.  I  inherited  the  acquaintance,  and  the  more 
easily,  as  he  and  I  lived  in  the  same  house.  At  this  time  he  stood 
quite  alone  in  the  musical  world.  A  scholar  of  Emanuel  Bach,  of 
Hamburg,  he  had  an  unbounded  reverence  for  Emanuel's  father,  the 
great  Sebastian  Bach,  and  played  his  compositions  for  piano-forte  and 
organ  in  a  masterly  style,  after  the  manner  which  had  descended  from 
him.*  Almost  all  other  music  was  strange  and  unpleasant  to  him, 
and  his  over-severe  criticism  upon  the  celebrated  and  splendid  over- 
ture to  Gluck's  Iphigenia  in  Aulis,  gave  dissatisfaction  to  many,  and 
with  good  reason.  This  criticism  would,  of  course,  be  unfair,  because 
Forkel  judged  of  all  music,  even  Gluck's,  by  the  pattern  of  that  of 
Sebastian  Bach.  One  who  should  take  Palladio  for  the  normal  archi- 
tect, or  Michael  Angelo  for  the  normal  painter,  would  judge  wrongly 
of  the  Strasburg  Minster,  and  of  Correggio.  Thus,  as  Forkel  disliked 
all  the  universally  liked  modern  music,  the  friends  of  it  disliked  him  ; 
and  many  left  him,  also,  because  they  were  entirely  unable  to  com- 
prehend Sebastian  Bach's  compositions.  By  means  of  my  brother,  I 
took  piano-forte  lessons  of  Forkel.  He  made  me  begin,  not  on  his 
grand  piano,  but  on  a  common  Silbermann's  instrument,  with  learning 
the  touch,  and  the  production  of  a  pure  tone,  and  then  proceeded  to 
exercises,  and  thence  to  the  "  Inventions"  which  Bach  wrote  for  the  piano. 

I  studied,  also,  modern  languages.  I  took  French  lessons  of  a 
French  abbe,  who,  with  undoubting  self-sufficiency,  considered  French 
literature  elevated  high  above  that  of  all  other  nations.  He  hardly 
knew  what  to  say  when  I  praised  Shakspeare — that  *•  monstre"  I  re- 
member how,  once,  he  was  almost  beside  himself  at  my  translating  to 
him  a  passage  from  Lessing's  "  Dramaturgy,"  beginning  with  the  words, 
"Let  any  one  name  to  me  a  composition  of  the  great  Corneille  which 
I  cannot  improve.     What  will  you  bet?"     "Who  is  this  Monsieur 


*  Forkel  published  several  collections  of  Sebastian  Bach's  compositions  for  the  piano.  But 
the  works  of  this  profound  master  were  not  vahn-d  by  the  public  at  largo,  until  Mendelssohn,  in 
1828,  summoned  to  life  some  of  them,  which  had  slept  as  silent  as  dt-ath,  in  manuscript,  for  a 
hundred  years. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  63 

Lessing,"  lie  asked,  "who  dares  to  come  out  in  this  way  against  the 
great  Corneille  ?"  And  the  explanations  which  Lessing  added  could 
not  satisfy  him  at  all. 

I  learned  Spanish  with  the  theologian  Tychsen,  who  was  long  em- 
ployed in  the  Escnrial ;  and  with  the  friendly  and  thorough  Beneke, 
I  read  Shakspeare. 

With  my  love  of  art  was  connected  also  love  of  nature.  In  every 
vacation  I  used  to  take  journeys.  At  Whitsuntide,  1801,  with  Meckel, 
the  anatomist;  Luden,  the  historian;  and  some  other  friends,  I  visited 
the  Hartz.  There  was  collected  on  the  Brookes  a  cheerful  company 
of  some  forty  students  from  different  universities. 

In  the  Michaelmas  vacation  of  1801  I  went  to  Hamburg;  at  Easter, 
1802,  to  Berlin;  at  Michaelmas,  1802,  to  Switzerland,  and  down  the 
Rhine,  from  Basle  to  Coblentz.  As  appears — or  ought  to — my  jour- 
neys were  mostly  on  foot;  as,  fortunately,  the  seductive  railway  was 
not  in  existence; — fortunately,  I  mean,  in  reference  to  the  journeys  of 
students.  Not  that  I  would  have  them,  as  I  did  in  my  youth,  plod 
through  the  sandy  deserts  of  the  Mark,  Pomerania,  and  Luneburg,  on 
foot ;  although  even  those  routes  have  their  enjoyment  when  traveled 
with  congenial  and  cheerful  friends,  who,  in  spite  of  wind  and  weather, 
bad  roads,  and  worse  inns,  remain  courageous  and  cheerful,  and  never 
despair  as  long  as  the  money  lasts.  But  I  heartily  pity  those  students 
who  go  from  Frankfort  to  Basle  by  railway,  and  see  all  the  magnifi- 
cence of  the  Rhine  and  its  beautiful  mountains,  with  their  castles,  and 
strong  old  towns,  flit  swiftly  past  their  eyes  without  leaving  one  single 
fixed  and  clear  picture. 

The  custom  of  students'  journeys  began  first  to  obtain,  as  for  as  I 
know,  in  the  beginning  of  this  century  ;  especially  long  ones.  When, 
in  the  Michaelmas  vacation  of  1802,  I  went  from  Gottingen  to  Stutt- 
gart, with  four  acquaintances,  and  challenged  them  there  to  proceed 
with  me  to  Switzerland,  the  thing  seemed  to  them  impossible.  They 
were  so  tar  from  accepting  my  proposal,  that  one  of  them  made  a  wager 
with  me  that  I  would  not  enter  Switzerland.     I  won  the  wager. 

Traveling  is  of  the  greatest  value  to  students.  How  otherwise 
could  they  use  their  vacations  ?  Most  of  them  go  home.  The  more 
indolent  of  them  are  often  an  annoyance  at  home,  and  even  to  the 
whole  neighborhood,  by  their  foolish  tricks,  and  return,  tired  out,  to 
the  university,  having  learned  nothing  in  the  vacation,  but  forgotten 
much.  And  even  to  the  industrious,  the  season  is  not  one  of  active 
exertion.  They  probably  do  not  desire  to  be  entirely  at  leisure,  and 
often  fall  into  an  unfortunate  way  of  half  working  and  half  not,  in 
which  their  heart  is  only  half  in  what  they  do.     So  they  return  to  the 


64 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 


university   without    being    either  satisfied    or    refreshed    with    their 
vacation. 

The  case  is  far  otherwise  with  students  who  spend  their  vacation  in 
traveling.  To  begin  with  a  very  obvious  remark,  it  is  a  good  thing 
that  the  money  which  others  often  waste  so  uselessly,  should  be  spent 
in  a  pleasure  so  elevating  as  that  of  traveling. 

Traveling — that  is,  of  industrious  students — makes  a  pause  in  their 
studies,  so  that  they  do  not  work,  year  in  and  year  out,  like  soulless 
machines  wound  up  and  set  going.  This  pause,  moreover,  is  not  a 
useless,  wearisome,  and  enervating  idleness;  on  the  contrary,  traveling 
necessarily  excites  a  most  vivid  activity  of  mind;  for  the  traveler  can- 
not be  satiated  with  examining  all  the  beauty  which  appears  every- 
where, in  nature  and  art.  I  shall  never  forget  how7  overpowering  was 
my  first  impression  upon  seeing  the  Alps,  the  Rhine  country,  the 
ocean ;  and  the  Strasburg  Minster,  the  cathedral  of  Cologne,  and  many 
other  such  things.  All  such  things  are  deeply  impressed  on  the  mind 
of  the  youth,  and  he  collects  in  his  memory  a  treasure  of  splendid 
pictures  which  he  can  recall  with  pleasure  in  after  years,  perhaps  when 
unable  to  leave  home.  How  he  will  learn,  also,  in  such  journeys,  to 
know  his  beautiful  German  fatherland,  and  to  love  it  with  youthful 
affection  !  But  enough  of  traveling,  the  pleasure  of  my  youth,  and  by 
the  memory  of  it,  of  my  old  age. 

Having  sketched  the  bright  side  of  life  at  the  University  of  Gottin- 
gen,  I  must  not  hide  the  dark  side. 

Whoever  has  read,  with  attention,  Meiners'  "  Organization  and 
Management  of  the  German  Universities,"  has  found  an  account  of 
this  dark  side  in  the  former  clays  of  Gottingen.  The  book  appeared 
in  1802,  when  the  author  wras  prorector  there.  His  description  throws 
the  strongest  light  upon  the  traits  of  the  University  of  Gottingen  ;  and 
how  does  he  begin  ?  What  does  he  say,  for  instance,  of  the  students  ? 
He  speaks  especially  of  those  from  leading  families;  who,  he  thinks, 
give  tone  and  character  to  the  university.  As  at  that  time  such  young 
men  "of  condition"  studied  almost  nothing  but  jurisprudence,  this 
fact  seems  to  have  been  the  cause  of  Meiners'  statement,  that  in  Ger- 
many jurisprudence  "undeniably  held  the  highest  place,  medicine  the 
second,  theology  the  third." 

Meiners  discusses  the  duel  like  a  pedant  trying  to  appear  a  man  of  the 
world,  and  therefore  quite  unable  to  "  touch  the  honor1'  of  those  of  high 
condition  ;  and,  indeed,  having  more  consideration  for  that  than  for  his 
own  duty  as  magnificus.  He  repeatedly  uses  the  term  "a  young  man 
of  condition,"  in  speaking  of  challenges  and  duels  by  such  persons. 

His  tone  is  very  different  in  speaking  of  the  poor  students  of  his 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  05 

third  faculty,  the  theological.  "At  our  university,"  he  says,  "the 
period  seems  to  me  not  far  distant,  when  it  will  be  universally  con- 
sidered not  only  punishable,  but  ridiculous,  for  future  teachers  of 
Christ's  religion  to  be  demanding  satisfaction  with  the  sword  for 
insults  received."  These  future  teachers  of  Christ's  religion,  then, 
were  at  that  time  never  persons  "  of  condition."* 

Among  other  objections  to  the  examinations  at  Gottingen,  Meiners 
cites  this :  that  the  wealthy  would  go  to  other  universities  to  escape 
them ;  and  that  they  would  occasion  "still  fewer  well-born  and  wealthy 
young  men  to  devote  themselves  to  the  sciences  than  heretofore." 
But  he  says  nothing  against  the  half-yearly  examinations  of  the  poor 
beneficiaries  (mostly  theological  students).  While  he  is  very  tender 
of  all  considerations  which  might  restrain  the  wealthy  and  well-born 
from  studying  at  Gottingen,f  he  gives  advice,  on  the  other  hand,  for 
preventing  the  poor  from  attending  the  university.  "  Even  a  mod- 
erate number  of  industrious  young  persons,"  he  says,  "  with  whom  no 
fault  can  be  found,  who  cannot  support  themselves  through  the  course, 
are  a  great  evil." 

Meiners'  remarks  on  gaming,  as  follows,  are  also  characteristic : 

"  Playing  hazard  will  never  be  stopped  at  universities  where  many  wealthy 
young  men  of  family  are  gathered  together.  .  .  .  Sons  hear  and  see  it 
going  on  from  their  earliest  childhood,  and  imitate  their  fathers  in  it  as  early 
as  possible.  ...  A  few  years  since,  certain  persons  convicted  of  playing 
hazard,  declared  before  the  court  that  they  had  played  the  game  from  their 
childhood  in  their  parents'  houses,  that  they  thought  it  justifiable,  that  they 
knew  no  other  game,  and  that  they  should  continue,  when  they  had  leisure, 
to  play  it ;  and  they  were  content  to  suffer  the  legal  penalty  for  it  when  dis- 
covered. Even  tutors  believe  it  to  be  a  good  plan  to  play  hazard  under  proper 
oversight— on  the  principle  of  acquainting  young  people  with  such  games,  and 
of  teaching  them  early  to  play  with  moderation. "% 

Every  count  sat,  at  lecture,  at  his  own  table— the  "  count's  table  ;" 
they  were  addressed  separately,  at  the  beginning  of  the  lecture,  by  the 
title  of  "High  and  well-born  lord  count,"  and  paid  a  double  fee.§ 

These  quotations  sufficiently  show  that,  when  I  came  to  Gottingen, 
students  from  high  families  did  actually  give  tone  and  character  to  the 
university.  This  shows  why  Meiners  laid  so  extraordinarily  much 
stress  on  the  behavior  of  the  students ;  caring  more  for  the  varnish  on 
their  education  than  for  the  education  itself.  He  would  have  the  way 
of  thinking  of  the  high  nobility  prevail  at  the  university ;  and  hence 
his  opinions  on  the  duel,  playing  hazard,  &c.     In   like  manner  he 

*  Meiners  afterward  adheres  to  the  unanswerable  judgment  upon  the  duel,  given  by  bis  col- 
league, the  theologian  Michaelis. 

+  Even  his  opinions  on  the  duel  clearly  indicate  this  delicacy.  +  Meiners,  280. 

§  Meiners,  1S9.  He  mentions,  also,  ether  privileges  of  counts;  such  as  the  entering  their 
names  at  coming  in  a  separate  book  ;  having  a  .seat  before  the  court,  &c. 

No.  17.— [Vol.  VI.,  No.  2.]— 5  5 


GQ  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

expresses  himself,  with  remarkable  tenderness,  in  disagreement  with 
the  strictness  of  the  Gottingen  academical  laws,  not  only  against  wild 
howling  in  the  streets,  but  against  singing;  against  cries  both  of  pereat 
and  vivat. 

According  to  him,  the  whole  university  ought,  like  the  single  stu- 
dents, to  be  always  careful  of  its  manners,  and  never  be  disagreeable 
to  any  high  personages  passing  through  it. 

I  had,  unfortunately,  an  opportunity  to  become  well  acquainted  with 
the  dark  side  of  this  varnished  academical  outside  behavior,  by  means 
of  a  very  dear  school-fellow  who  went  from  the  Gymnasium,  a  year 
before  me,  to  Erlangen,  and  thence,  the  next  year,  to  Gottingen. 
Through  him  I  became  acquainted  with  some  students  who,  as  indeed 
gradually  became  apparent  to  both  of  us,  lived  in  a  manner  altogether 
vicious.  Nothing  was  at  first  perceptible,  except  that  they  were  pas- 
sionate hazard-players.  As  to  Meiners'  remark,  that  it  is  not  strange 
that  the  sons  of  good  families,  who  have,  from  childhood,  been  used  to 
see  their  fathers  playing,  should  bring  a  fondness  for  it  to  the  univer- 
sity with  them,  the  case  was  exactly  reversed  with  me.  I  was  earn- 
estly warned,  by  my  parents,  against  dissipation  ;  but  they  never 
thought  of  warning  me  against  playing  hazard,  for  the  game  never 
entered  into  their  minds.  Thus  it  happened  that  I  was  led  into  play- 
ing. The  o-ame  did  not  seem  to  me  a  sin,  but  a  matter  of  indifference. 
But  what  a  life  did  it  lead  me  into !  The  passion  got  entire  possession 
of  me,  and  made  me  indifferent  to  every  thing  which  I  had  before  loved 
most.  It  was  as  if  my  heart  had  frozen  to  ice  within  me.  I  thank 
God,  that  after  a  little,  I  had  the  great  good  fortune  to  have  ill-fortune 
at  play,  which  brought  me  to  reflection  upon  this  unholy  and  devilish 
occupation,  and  caused  me  to  make  a  fixed  resolution  to  give  it  up  at 
once,  and  forever. 

At  the  gaming-table  I  found  out  how  terribly  vicious  were  the  lives 
of  these  men — most  of  them  being  loathsomely  syphilitic.  God  pre- 
served me  from  any  dissipation  in  that  direction,  however,  by  means  of 
the  advice  which  my  father  had  impressed  strongly  on  me,  and  the 
fearful  warnings  which  I  saw  before  my  eyes.  And  yet  these  men 
belonged  to  that  "well-born"  class  who  passed  for  refined  people,  who 
understood  good  manners,  and  who  were  everywhere  invited  to  par- 
ties, and  who  shone  in  them. 

My  glance  into  this  abyss  of  moral  destruction  made  so  profound  an 
impression  upon  me  that,  for  a  time,  I  even  shut  myself  up  misan- 
thropically  from  everybody.  It  still  remains  with  me,  and  subsequent 
experience  has  strengthened  it.  It  may  be  imagined  how  much 
pleasure  I  received  when  the  Burschenscka/t  took  ground  earnestly  and 


THE    GERMAN*    UNIVERSITIES.  67 

strongly  against  such  abominations ;  and  how  decidedly  I  thought  it 
my  official  duty,  as  professor,  to  speak  everywhere  in  favor  of  that 
body.  To  my  encouragement,  I  found  an  exceedingly  true  friend,  al- 
together the  opposite  of  these  roues  ;  an  anima  Candida,  the  true  son 
of  his  mother,  remarkably  interested  in  his  profession,  that  of  juris- 
prudence, and  moreover,  a  competent  mathematician.  This  was  the 
present  Senior  of  the  University  of  Tubingen,  Chief  Councillor  of  Jus- 
tice von  Schrader. 

Not  to  conclude  the  account  of  my  Gottingen  experiences  with  a 
discoid,  I  will  mention  an  occurrence  which  put  me  into  the  greatest 
excitement.  This  was  the  coming  of  Goethe,  who,  in  the  summer  of 
1801,  went  to  Pyrmont  by  way  of  Gottingen.  Scarcely  had  it  become 
known  that  he  had  taken  lodgings  at  the  Crown  Inn,  when  we,  his 
enthusiastic  admirers,  determined  to  give  him  a  vivat,  at  the  risk  of 
being  taken  up  by  the  catch-poles. 

We  agreed  to  meet  in  the  evening,  before  the  Grown — Achim 
Arnim,*  Kestner,f  Blumenbach's  son,  with  others,  being  the  most 
active.  We  were  all  punctual  at  the  moment.  Arnim  commenced 
the  vivat,  and  we  all  joined  in  right  heartily,  but  thought  best  instantly 
to  scatter  in  every  direction/); 

On  his  return  from  Pyrmont,  Goethe  spent  a  longer  time  in  Gottin- 
gen, lodging  at  Kramer's  house,  where  I  myself  lodged.  Though  this 
delighted  me  much,  I  was  still  too  diffident  to  approach  him,  though 
I  saw  him  often.  One  evening  he  took  supper  with  some  professors 
and  students,  at  a  club,  presided  over  by  Bouterwek  and  Reinhard,§ 
and  which  had  been  sportively  named  the  Improvement  Club.  Some 
pedantic,  stiff  professors  gave  us  to  understand  that  it  did  not  corre- 
spond with  this  name,  that  we  gave  Goethe's  health,  with  cheers,  at 
table,  although  it  was  done  with  great  enthusiasm.|| 


*  In  the  summer  term  of  1S01  I  was  much  with  Arnim  and  Brentano;  hoth  bad  been  my 
friends  at  school. 

t  This,  I  believe,  was  the  same  who  died  at  Rome  two  years  ago,  universally  lamented.  We 
called  him  Lottiades,  for  a  reason  which  appears  from  his  mother's  correspondence,  the  publi- 
cation of  which,  by  my  dear  friend,  Councillor  11.  "Wagner,  was  so  much  disliked  by  many 
persons. 

%  I  was  much  pleased  to  find  this  virat  mentioned  by  Goethe  (Work$%  1S40,  part  27.  p.  SIX 
lie  says,  '•  Putting  up  at  the  Crown,  in  Gottingen,  I  observed,  as  twilight  came  on.  a  movement 
in  the  street:  students  came  and  went,  disappeared  in  side  streets,  and  appeared  again  in 
groups.  At  last  there  arose,  all  at  once,  a  friendly  meat!  and  in  a  twinkling  every  thing  was 
silent.  I  was  informed  that  such  demonstrations  were  prohibited,  and  was  the  more  pleased 
because  they  had  only  dared  to  greet  me  from  the  street,  in  passing  by."  So  little  did  the  cura- 
to .-  perpetuus  of  the  University  of  Jena  sympathize  with  this  over-scrupulous  prohibition  1 

§  Editor  of  Burger's  Poems. 

I  Goethe's  Works,  xxvii.  92.  He  gives  a  very  ludicrous  account  of  a  night-scene  at  Kramers 
house,  when,  between  the  barking  of  dogs  and  Miss  Kramer's  practicing  trills,  he  fell  .almost 
into  despair.     I  have  often  heard  the  singer,  my  fellow-lodger. 


08  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 


C. — Halle. 


At  Easter,  1S03,  I  left  Gottingen  and  went  to  Halle,  the  reputation 
of  which  was  then  very  high,  on  account  of  the  celebrated  physician, 
Reil,  and  F.  A.  Wolf.  I  had  labored  excessively  at  Gottingen.  The 
library,  access  to  which  was  made  very  easy  to  me  through  Beneke's 
friendly  interposition,  had  betrayed  me  into  an  immoderate  amount  of 
reading.  Some  recreation  was  absolutely  necessary  for  me.  This  I 
found,  by  hiring  a  summer  lodging  along  with  friends,  among  whom  were 
some  previous  school-fellows.  We  fixed  ourselves  in  the  house  known 
as  The  Bunch  of  Grapes,  beautifully  situated,  between  Halle  and 
Giebichenstein,  whose  garden  looked  down  from  a  height  upon  the 
Saale.  We  occupied  ourselves  mostly  with  reading  some  of  the  great 
poets.  We  formed  a  society,  which  we  called  by  the  somewhat 
doubtful  name  of  the  ^Esthetic  Society  ;  whose  members  applied  them- 
selves in  part  to  philosophical  studies,  and  in  part  to  poetry.  We  met 
weekly,  and  contributed  in  turn,  manuscript  articles  of  the  most  vari- 
ous kinds — historical,  aesthetic  ;  some  poems,  translations,  prose  and 
poetical.  We  reckoned  ourselves  of  the  school  of  Sehlegel.  With 
him  I  had  previously,  while  at  the  Gymnasium,  come  into  contact  in  a 
singular  way.  Kotzebue  had  written  his  "Hyperborean  Ass,"  a  satire 
on  the  brothers  Sehlegel.  One  of  our  teachers,  who  hated  the  broth- 
ers, committed  the  mistake  of  reading  this  composition  to  us  in  the 
class.  How  this  should  have  appeared  to  us  as  it  did,  when  our 
teacher  was  so  high  an  authority  to  us,  I  do  not  know.  But  as  we 
did  not  like  it,  he  himself  permitted  us,  after  it,  to  read  A.  W.  Schle- 
gel's  answer  to  it,  "  The  Triumphal  Arch  of  Hen  von  Kotzebue,"  and 
then  the  various  writings  of  the  romantic  school,  of  Tieck,  Wack- 
enroder,  Novalis,  <fec.  The  opinions  of  these  writers  upon  the  heroes 
of  ancient  and  modern  times  had  great  weight  with  us.  Dante,  Shak- 
speare,  Cervantes,  &c,  whom  they  praised  enthusiastically,  were  read 
by  us  with  eagerness ;  while  we  neglected  other  authors,  such  as 
Wieland,  for  example,  who  had  before  been  earnestly  recommended 
to  us.* 

In  the  Whitsuntide  vacation  of  1803  I  visited  Dresden  and  the 
Saxon  Switzerland.  The  Dresden  gallery  of  paintings,  in  particular, 
attracted  me.  It  would  carry  me  too  far,  were  I  here  to  speak  of  the 
pictures  which  gave  me  always  increasing  pleasure;  especially  the 

*  Wieland  liad  previously  ranked  as  the  representative  of  the  golden  age  of  German  litera- 
ture, especially  bis  Ayatlu  n  and  Oltenm.  It  is  incredible  bow  bis  authority  was  shaken  by  the 
few  lines  of  the  QUocio  Edietalfa,  in  the  Athenrcum,  ii.  340.  Our  eyes  were  first  opened,  at  a 
subsequent  time,  to  mar:"  doubtful  and  exceptionable  views  of  the  romantic  school. 


TFIK    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  Od 

Sistine  Madonna — that  apparition  from  a  higher  world  —of  the  Correg- 
gios,  Holbein's  Madonna,  the  Christ  of  John  Bellini,  Yon  Iluysdael's 
and  Claude  Lorraine's  landscapes. 

At  Michaelmas,  1803,  I  left  my  summer  lodging  and  went  to  Halle, 
where  again  I  lodged  in  the  house  with  dear  friends.  One  was  the 
excellent  Winterfeld,  who  was  even  then  living  entirely  in  the  element 
of  music.  Unfortunately,  we  had  some  other  fellow-lodgers,  who  lived 
in  so  shamefully  debauched  a  manner,  that  at  Easter,  1804,  I  gave  up 
my  boarding-place,  and  procured  one  in  the  house  of  the  well-kuown 
eclectic  philosopher,  the  aged  Eberhard.  He  had  formerly  been  a 
preacher  at  Charlottenburg,  near  Berlin,  and  was  thence  invited  to 
become  professor  of  philosophy  at  Halle.  His  bearing  was  that  of  a 
polished  and  educated  Frenchman  ;  such  as  used  to  be  that  of  many 
educated  Berliners.  He  belonged  to  the  circle  of  Nicolai,  that  of  the 
Universal  German  Library  (Allegemeine  Deutscher  Bibliothek),  which 
so  long  wielded  the  critical  scepter  of  the  German  literary  world. 
Hamann  and  F.  H.  Jacobi,  at  an  earlier  period,  and  afterward  Fichte, 
Goethe,  Schiller,  and  the  romantic  school,  attacked  the  intellectual 
despotism  of  that  periodical,  and  it  is  now  obsolete. 

I  listened  with  the  greatest  interest  to  Wolf;  attending  all  his  lec- 
tures, from  Easter,  1803,  to  September,  1804,  except  his  course  on 
Matthew,  which  I  designedly  omitted,  not  wishing  to  become  familiar 
with  his  views  in  that  direction.  Those  which  I  did  attend  were  on 
the  History  of  Greek  Literature,  the  Satires  and  Epistles  of  Horace, 
the  Menon  of  Plato,  the  Iliad,  and  the  Clouds  of  Aristophanes.  As  I 
have,  in  the  second  part  of  this  work,  attempted  to  describe  Wolf's 
character,  I  will  here  only  mention  with  gratitude  that  he  assisted  me 
in  a  friendly  manner,  with  advice  and  books. 

A  companion  and  dear  friend  at  the  university,  Immanuel  Bekker, 
was  at  that  time  my  most  faithful,  pains-taking,  reliable  teacher.  He 
will  remember  how,  in  the  summer  of  1804,  we  read  Greek,  with 
little  intermission,  from  early  in  the  day  until  late  at  night,  often  in 
the  open  air,  in  the  most  beautiful  spot  of  the  lofty  bank  of  the  Saale, 
at  Giebichenstein.  At  the  end  of  fifty  years,  his  old  scholar  would 
once  more  offer  him  hearty  thanks. 

In  the  summer  of  1804  Goethe  came  to  Halle,  and  lodged,  not  as 
previously  at  Gottingen,  in  the  same  house  with  me,  but  opposite  me, 
at  Wolf's  house.  The  street  was  not  very  wide,  and  I  could,  there- 
fore, see  him  often,  especially  when  he  sat  at  the  window  with  Wolf. 
But  I  did  not  speak  to  him  even  this  time  ;  not  until  the  year  1808, 
when  I  was  introduced  to  him  in  Carlsbad,  as  a  pupil  of  Werner,  from 
Freiberg.     Goethe's  deep  interest  in  geognosy,  especially  in  Werner's 


70  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

system,  made  him  put  himself  on  very  friendly  terms  with  me,  and  he 
questioned  me  very  fully  about  life  and  instruction  in  Freiberg. 

The  baths  of  Lauchstedt  are  two  miles  from  Halle.  The  Weimar 
stage  company  came  thither  every  summer  for  several  years.  Goethe's 
biography  tells  how  much  he  was  interested  in  the  artistic  training  of 
this  troupe,  and  how  much  pains  he  took  to  substitute  classical  plays 
for  the  usual  miserable  ones.  It  may  be  imagined  how  much  delight 
this  theater  afforded  us.  They  represented  Julius  Caesar,  Othello,  The 
Natural  Daughter,  The  Bride  of  Messina,  William  Tell,  and  Jery  and 
Bately.  When  Friedrich  Schlegel's  Alarcos  was  produced,  we  thought 
it  our  duty  to  support  the  tragedy  against  the  anti-Schlegelian  party, 
although  our  admiration,  being  founded  on  principle,  was  somewhat 
cool.  Wallenstein's  Camp  was  excellently  given.  The  numerous  per- 
sons, notwithstanding  the  apparently  confused  and  pell-mell  movements 
of  the  piece,  represented  in  a  manner  so  wonderfully  good,  one  artistic 
group  after  another,  that  we  seemed  to  have  before  our  eyes,  in  the  little 
theater,  the  whole  of  the  rude  and  troubled  life  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 
This  picture  of  restless,  homeless  warfare,  in  the  constant  face  of  death, 
made  a  profoundly  tragic  impression  upon  the  spectators. 

Schiller  came  to  Lauchstedt,  being  then  near  the  end  of  his  life. 
While  Goethe,  in  the  beauty  and  power  of  full  health,  wore  an  impe- 
rial geniality  of  aspect,  Schiller  had  nothing  extraordinary  or  imposing 
in  his  appearance,  but  seemed  modest,  reflective,  and  withdrawn  within 
himself.  We  approached  the  great  poet  as  much  as  civility  permitted, 
and  ate  at  the  public  table  with  him,  where  I  had  the  good  fortune 
to  sit  nearly  opposite  him.  In  the  evening  we  gave  him  a  vivat, 
with  music.  The  wretched  band  of  music  had  been  directed  to  play 
melodies  to  songs  by  Schiller;  but  they  only  knew  that  threadbare 
and  almost  vulgarized  one  of  "Pleasures,  rays  of  beauteous  gods." 
But  the  kind-hearted  poet  did  not  shame  our  good-will,  and  thanked 
us  most  heartily. 

At  Michaelmas,  1804,  I  had  to  leave  the  university  and  go  from 
Halle  to  remain  in  my  father's  house  at  Dessau.  This  parting  from 
the  university  was  very  painful  to  me.  I  had  to  give  up  so  much  in 
which  my  whole  soul  was  interested,  to  lose  sight  of  aims  in  life  just 
coming  into  view,  to  resign  all  my  wishes  and  hopes,  and  to  enter  a 
prosaic  every-day  life  among  law-papers.*  While  in  this  uncomfort- 
able state  of  mind,  I  received  a  letter  from  an  intimate  friend  at  Halle. 
"  You  must,"  he  said,  "  positively  come  back  to  Halle  for  one  half  year. 
Steffens  is  come;  only  become  acquainted  with  him;  he   is  exactly 

*  Such  was,  with  myself  and  many  other  of  my  student  friends,  the  opposition  of  the  ideas 
of  student-life  and  Philister-life. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  71 

the  man  for  you."  This  letter  only  expressed  my  own  ardent  desires, 
and  I  earnestly  besought  my  father  to  permit  me  to  return  once  more 
to  Halle.  Although  my  joy  was  great  at  his  consent,  still  I  had  no 
idea  how  profound  an  influence  that  consent  was  to  have  upon  my 
whole  after-life. 

To  return  to  my  university  life. 

Having  returned  to  Halle,  I  attended  Steffens'  lectures  on  the  inter- 
nal history  of  the  earth.  These  had  a  very  remarkable  influence  upon 
me.  Above  all,  I  was  impressed  with  Steffens'  great  idea  that  the 
earth  has  a  history.  This  idea  was  neither  brought  out  as  an  appa- 
rition of  earth-giants,  so  as  to  prevent  bold  investigations  by  mere 
men,  nor  as  a  mere  accident,  without  connection  or  basis.  I  learned, 
for  the  first  time,  that  Werner  had  based  a  history  of  the  development 
of  the  earth  upon  observations  made  at  the  present  day;  how  the  old- 
est mountains  contain  no  traces  of  fossil  animals  and  plants ;  how  these 
are  gradually  found  in  the  younger  mountain  formations,  and  stand 
out  individually  from  the  general  mass  of  the  stone.  Man,  according 
to  Steffens,  was  the  most  individualized  and  independent  creature ;  the 
crown  and  key-stone  of  the  earthly  creation. 

Steffens'  "  Contributions  to  the  Internal  History  of  Nature"  so  full 
of  genius,  were  the  basis  of  his  lectures.  He  himself  considered  these 
views  as  the  masterpiece  of  his  life.  He  wrote  them  at  Freiberg,  in 
1801,  under  the  inspiration  of  Werner's  explanation  of  the  epochs  of 
mountain  formations,  but  had  based  more  deeply  and  developed  more 
widely  the  views  of  his  master.  This  he  did  in  one  treatise  in  them, 
entitled,  "  Proof  that  nitrogen  and  carbon  are  the  representatives  of 
magnetism  in  chemical  processes."  A  second  treatise  is  entitled, 
"  Nature,  by  its  whole  organization,  seeks  only  the  most  individual 
development."  Here  Steffens  steps  behind  Werner's  scientific  circle, 
and  characterizes,  in  sketches  full  of  genius,  the  development  of  the 
classes  of  animals,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest,  as  one  graded  indi- 
vidualization. He  closes  with  the  words,  "  He  whom  nature  permits 
to  find  her  harmonies  within  himself,  who  finds  a  whole  infinite 
world  within  himself,  is  the  most  individualized  creation  ;  and  is  the 
consecrated  priest  of  nature." 

Goethe  and  Schelling  had  the  greatest  influence  upon  Steffens,  he 
having  become  acquainted  with  them  while  a  young  man,  in  1799. 
This  occasioned  the  dedication  of  his  contributions  to  Goethe ;  and  the 
work  itself  shows  a  close  adherence  to  Schelling. 

But  how  thoroughly  is  Steffens'  work  forgotten  !  It  is  sad  to  see 
how  eagerly,  and  with  what  restless  haste  the  present  generation  drives 
forward,  looking  and  aspiring  forward  only,  without  looking  back  at 


JS  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

all  upon  the  past.  And  yet  very  much  could  be  learned  from  our  pre- 
decessors. They  did  not  divide  and  lose  themselves  in  an  infinite 
number  of  single  things;  indeed,  compared  with  ourselves,  they  pos- 
sessed but  a  small  treasure  of  knowledge.  But  they  were  faithful  in  a 
few  things,  and  put  their  money  at  usury ;  holding  their  intellectual 
powers  compactly  together,  and  living  in  great  presentiments.  They 
drew  the  sketches  for  mighty  edifices.  And  even  though  they  had 
not  building  materials  enough  to  complete  them,  and  sometimes  used 
bad  ones,  still  their  successors  cannot  exalt  themselves  over  them  for 
it,  merely  on  the  ground  of  having  had  access  to  the  richer  and  better 
materials  which,  in  the  course  of  time,  have  accumulated.  Indeed, 
they  have  even  the  stronger  claim  to  rank  as  masters,  because,  with 
such  materials,  they  built  in  a  firm,  symmetrical,  and  workmanlike 
manner. 

Before  very  long  I  came  in  closer  contact  with  my  beloved  teacher, 
and  visited  him  daily.  He  introduced  me  to  the  family  of  his  father-in- 
law,  Kapellmeister  Reichardt  in  Giebichenstein,  whose  hospitable  dwell- 
ing was  visited,  for  longer  or  shorter  periods,  by  the  most  eminent 
men,  such  as  Goethe,  Jean  Paul,  Voss,  Fichte,  Schelling,  brothers 
Schlegel,  Tieck,  Novalis,  Arnim,  (fee.  The  most  prominent  members 
of  the  University  of  Halle  were  als.o  to  be  seen  in  the  family  circle  of 
the  Reichardts.  Thus,  Wolf  was  often  at  Giebichenstein.  But  the 
most  intimate  member  of  the  circle  was  Schleiermacher,  who  had  been 
invited  to  Halle  together  with  StefFens,  and  was  his  most  intimate 
friend.  Their  mutual  relations  will  elucidate  what  Goethe  says  of  his 
connection  with  Schiller.  That  is,  they  were  of  the  most  entirely 
opposite  nature  and  character,  and,  for  that  very  reason,  were  supple- 
mentary and  attracted  to  each  other.  Steffens,  then  thirty-one  years 
old,  was  a  handsome,  intellectual  man,  very  lively,  easily  excited,  often 
flying  into  a  great  passion,  though  of  the  utmost  goodness  of  heart, 
imaginative,  truly  eloquent ;  indeed  a  born  orator,  hurried  on  by  the 
fullness  of  his  own  feelings,  and  therefore  carrying  away  his  hearers  by 
his  enthusiastic  speech.  His  lectures,  in  which,  as  in  the  ancient 
natural  philosophy,  science  rose  upon  the  wings  of  poetry,  absorbed 
us  wonderfully.  His  oration  for  war,  delivered  at  Breslau,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1813,  had  a  most  powerful  influence;  and  a  second,  against  the 
French,  at  the  market  in  Marburg,  in  October,  1815,  to  the  people 
gathered  about  him,  so  excited  them  that  such  partisans  of  the  French 
as  happened  to  be  there  were  scarcely  rescued  from  their  hands  by 
being  locked  up  in  the  common  prison. 

Schleiermacher  was  entirely  different  from  Steffens;  being  a  small, 
quiet,  and  thoroughly  discreet  man.     In  society  he  never  fell  into 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  *73 

harangues.  lie  attended  closely  to  what  others  said,  understood  it 
clearly,  and  agreed  or  opposed,  with  his  well-known  and  peculiar  dia- 
lectic keenness  and  skill.  He  never  was  seen  excited  into  a  passion ; 
and  even  when  his  anger  was  aroused,  he  expressed  it  powerfully,  but 
always  calmly,  and  not  without  measure.  He  maintained  constant 
control  over  himself,  enough  to  enable  him  to  fix  his  attention  upon 
things  for  the  full  comprehension  of  which  he  had  no  gift;  and  thus 
always  appeared  judicious,  even  in  respect  to  matters  not  familiar  to 
him.  The  almost  tyrannical  dominion  which  he  had  and  exerted  over 
himself,  was  shown,  even  most  strikingly,  in  little  things.  In  a  contro- 
versy, for  example,  whether  the  Low  German  pronunciation  of  sp,  st., 
&c,  was  more  correct  and  euphonious  than  the  South  German,  which 
would  say  schp,  scht,  as  in  achpitz  for  spitz,  he  declared  for  the  for- 
mer. But,  it  was  answered,  why  do  you  not  pronounce  accordingly 
in  the  desk?  Instead  of  alleging  in  reply  his  habitude  from  youth  up, 
he  said  "I  will,  beginning  with  next  Sunday;"  and  I  have  been 
assured  that  he  never  afterward  violated  the  promise. 

Many  students  became  followers  of  StefYens  and  Schleiermacher. 
These  were  divided  according  to  their  preferences  for  science  or  the- 
ory, or  for  the  lectures  of  one  or  the  other.  But  this  never  grew 
into  the  distinct  development  of  two  opposing  schools,  or  even  parties. 
As  the  two  teachers  were  friends,  who  promoted  each  the  good  of  the 
other,  so  the  same  was  true  of  the  pupils  of  each.  It  was  also  a 
characteristic  fact  that  neither  Steffens  nor  Schleiermacher  was  jealous 
of  the  pupils  of  the  other.  I  never  attended  one  lecture  of  Schleier- 
macher, and  yet  he  was,  in  every  respect,  as  friendly  to  me  as  he  could 
have  been  to  his  most  faithful  and  punctual  hearer.  He  saw  how  pro- 
foundly I  was  interested  in  the  results  of  geological  investigations,  and 
thought  it  entirely  a  matter  of  course  that  I  should  adhere  especially 
to  Steffens.  I  once  had  the  confidence  to  say,  in  the  presence  of  Stef- 
fens and  Schleiermacher,  that  I  was  no  friend  to  dialectical  talking 
backward  and  forward,  of  long  circuits  about  the  truth,  but  that  I 
preferred  profound  and  compact  aphorisms,  which  bring  the  truth 
directly  before  the  eye,  are  simple  in  form,  and  need  no  such  para- 
phrases. With  the  greatest  reverence  and  love  for  our  teachers,  such 
was  the  freedom  with  which  we  might  express  ourselves  before  them. 
Accordingly,  my  presumptuous  self-confidence  in  this  case  was  wisely 
answered,  and  they  gave  me  examples  in  Socratic  dialectics,  with 
friendly  irony;  but  this  without  any  the  least  disturbance  of  my 
relations  with  Schleiermacher. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  thought  that  the  conversations  and  discussions 
in  our  circle  were  too  exclusively  on  scientific  subjects.     But  this  was 


74  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

not  at  all  the  case.  The  most  eager  zeal  of  our  scientific  conversations 
wis  relieved  by  the  participation  of  ladies  in  them ;  and  the  talking 
ceased  whenever  their  very  excellent  singing  commenced.  They  exe- 
cuted with  pure  and  beautiful  voices,  and  in  a  pure  style,  the  best 
music  from  Palestrina,  Leonardo  Leo,  Durante,  Handel,  and  others. 

This  side  of  our  academical  life  I  felt  obliged  to  glance  at;  indeed 
no  one  could  omit  it  who  should  desire  to  characterize  the  influence  of 
Stetfens  and  Schleiermacher  at  that  important  period.* 

I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  spend,  also,  the  summer  term  of  1805  at  the 
university.f  In  that  summer  Gall  visited  Halle,  and  lectured  on  his 
theory  of  the  brain,  which  was  then  making  a  great  excitement.  Ac- 
cording to  him,  definite  local  protuberances  of  the  skull  indicate  defi- 
nite endowments ;  organs  of  good  and  bad  qualities.  Thus,  he  found 
an  organ  for  religion,  and  one  for  murder,  and  another  for  theft.  Gall 
had  more  remarkable  hearers  in  Halle  than  anywhere  else;  eminent 
men  with  eminent  skulls,  which  we,  the  other  hearers,  during  the  lec- 
tures, used  diligently  for  models.  Above  all,  there  was  Goethe's  mag- 
nificent head,  whose  lofty,  mighty  forehead  showed  no  particular 
prominent  organ;  thus  indicating  a  great,  symmetrical,  all-sided,  calm 
organization.  Near  him  sat  Wolf,  whose  forehead,  by  the  prominence 
over  the  eyes  and  at  the  root  of  the  nose,  indicated  critical  tendencies. 
Steffens,  Schleiermacher,  and  Reil  were  also  among  the  audience. 

At  the  end  of  Gall's  lectures,  Steffens  made  known  that  he  should 
come  out  against  them.  The  new  osteological  theory  of  predestination 
had  displeased  him ;  and  doubly,  because  it  threatened  to  interfere 
with  established  things  to  an  incredible  extent.  He  delivered  three 
lectures,  which  have  appeared  in  print. 

A  faithful  teacher  should  be  interested,  not  only  in  his  own  special 


*  Steffens1  Autobiography,  Varnhagen's  Recollections  (vol.  ii.),  and  Schleiermacher's  let- 
ters of  the  period,  all  agree  with  me  in  this.  But  this  is  not  the  place  to  describe  fully  the 
pleasant  garden  life  of  Giebichenstein,  or  the  never  to  be  forgotten  evenings  with  Steffens. 

+  In  the  beginning  of  the  spring  a  very  dear  friend,  Bartholin,  and  I,  accompanied  Steffens 
and  Schleiermacher  to  the  Petersberg,  where  we  staid  from  Friday  to  early  Sunday  morning. 
On  Saturday  we  saw  a  most  beautiful  sunset,  whose  silence  was  broken  only  by  the  sound  of  the 
bells  of  innumerable  villages,  ringing  from  the  plain  below  us.  We  sat  until  after  midnight, 
enjoying  a  most  lively  conversation  between  our  teachers.  This,  however,  ended  early  Sun- 
day morning,  for  Schleiermacher  was  to  preach  the  sermon  on  the  death  of  the  late  queen  dow- 
ager of  Prussia,  at  nine  o'clock,  in  Halle.  In  order  to  meditate  the  better,  he  walked  twenty  or 
thirty  steps  in  advance  of  us.  We  arrived  at  Halle  so  late  that  he  had  barely  time  to  dress  in 
the  utmost  haste  and  ascend  the  pulpit;  yet  no  one  could  see  in  the  sermon  any  marks  of  his 
almost  sleepless  night  and  journey  on  foot;  so  clear  and  thoughtful  was  it  I  felt  obliged  to 
mention  this  pleasure  excursion,  as  it  had  so  important  an  influence  upon  the  mutual  under- 
standing, recognition,  and  friendship  of  Schleiermacher  and  Steffens;  as  appears  from  Steffens' 
account,  and  from  a  letter  of  Schleiermacher  to  Frau  Herz.  In  one  point  I  quite  agree  with 
Schleiermacher;  namely,  in  his  statement  that  he  and  Steffens  were  accompanied  by  two 
Students. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  Vo 

followers,  but  in  every  thing  which  may  promote  the  development  of 
the  individual  gifts  of  each  of  his  hearers.  Such  a  faithful  teacher 
was  StefFens ;  who  urged  me  earnestly  to  go  to  Freiberg  and  attend 
Werner's  lectures. 

I  had  been  profoundly  stimulated  by  Steffens,  and  even  almost  daz- 
zled by  his  brilliant  fireworks,  compounded  of  varied  pictures  of  nature, 
and  vast  predictions ;  and  Werner's  geognostic  expositions  affected  me 
like  a  mild  light;  quieting  and  calming.  He  was  not  so  mystical, 
nor  poetically  comprehensive  as  Steffens ;  but  he  gave  me  firmness 
and  fixed  views ;  and  the  sense  of  truth,  founded  directly  upon  the 
mountains,  and  comprehended  by  a  clear  and  intelligent  mind. 

After  the  close  of  Werner's  lectures  I  returned  to  Halle,  remained 
there  until  September,  1816,  and  then  returned  to  Freiberg.  In  Octo- 
ber the  terrible  period  of  the  French  domination  commenced.  After 
the  battle  of  Jena,  Napoleon  came  to  Halle  and  dissolved  the  univer- 
sity. Steffens  returned  to  Denmark;  and  Wolf,  Schleiermacher,  and 
Reil  were  afterward  invited  to  Berlin.  Jerome,  when  king  of  West- 
phalia, re-established  the  university  at  Halle.  Steffens  returned,  but 
complained,  with  a  sad  heart,  of  the  entire  destruction  of  the  pleasant 
life  formerly  existing  there.  And  how  could  it  flourish  and  blossom 
under  the  hateful  dominion  of  foreigners,  so  degrading  to  Germany  ? 

Before  I  now  take  leave  of  Halle  for  many  years,  I  will  name  some 
few  of  those  who  studied  there  between  1790  and  1806:  Achim 
Arnim,  Von  der  Hagen,  Nasse,  and  my  brother  Friedrich,  among  the 
earlier  ones;  and  later,  Boeckh,  Immanuel  Bekker,  the  theologians 
Theremin,  David  Schultz,  Scheibel,  Strauss,  Kniewel,  Neander;  and 
also  Varnhngen,  Winterfeld,  A.  Marwitz,  Dnhlmann,  the  younger 
Scharnhorst,  Przystanowski.  Most  of  these  belonged  to  the  circle  of 
StefFens  and  Schleiermacher,*  and  have  since  become  known  and 
celebrated  as  authors;  and  many  more  might  be  named,  who  have  not 
written,  but  who  have  proved  themselves,  and  still  are  proving  them- 
selves, in  actual  life,  most  valuable  men. 

The  well-known  and  remarkable  variety  of  character  among  those 
just  mentioned  is  the  best  proof  that  there  was  in  Halle,  at  that  time, 
no  such  uniform  school  as  was  that  of  Hegel  afterward.  In  Wolf, 
Schleiermacher,  and  Steffens,  we  had  three  teachers  of  character  so 
different  that  it  was  impossible  to  be  imitating  them  all.  This  directed 
us  the  more  to  the  noble,  free  spirit  of  all  three ;  who  cared  not  at 
all  for. a  troop  of  parroting  and  aping  scholars. 


*  Part  of  them  are  described  in  Steffens'  "Autobiography,"  vol.  v. ;  and  by  Varnhagen,  in 
his  li  Recollections. ' 


76  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

It  was  asked  whether,  in  a  history  of  the  German  Universities, 
there  would  be  nothing  to  be  said  of  any  students  except  such  as 
belonged  to  the  societies — Landsmannschaften  and  Orders  ?  And  the 
answer  was,  there  were  many  students  who  belonged  to  no  such  soci- 
ety, but  formed  circles  of  friends,  without  any  statutes  whatever,  but 
yet  with  a  very  definite  character,  with  common  ideals,  a  common 
work,  and  an  endeavor  after  a  common  purpose.  I  said  that  I  had 
known  such  circles,  and  had  been  a  member  of  them. 

It  seemed  to  me  very  difficult,  and  indeed  impossible  to  describe 
these  circles  by  any  abstract  representations;  and  I  therefore  resolved 
to  give,  instead,  some  account  of  my  own  student  life. 

If  any  reader  is  dissatisfied  at  my  giving  so  many  details  of  my  own 
pursuits,  I  may  reply  that  this  has  served  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  a 
picture  of  my  own  variously  directed  industry.  Many  others,  of  like 
views  with  myself,  labored  in  like  manner.  Even  in  Gottingen,  and 
much  more  strongly  in  Halle,  we  had,  firmly  fixed  before  us,  a  noble 
ideal  of  mental  development,  which  we  labored  after  with  the  most 
persevering  effort. 

In  order  to  fill  up  the  chasm  between  my  student  life  and  my  aca- 
demical professorship,  I  may  mention  briefly  that  I  studied  from  1806 
to  1808  at  Freiberg;  made  some  geognostical  journeys  in  company 
with  a  dear  friend,  State  Councilor  Yon  Engelhardt,  lately  deceased, 
in  Dorpat;  lived  in  Paris  from  September,  1808,  to  June,  1809^*  went 
in  October,  1809,  to  Pestalozzi,  at  Yverdun,  remained  there  to  the 
end  of  April,  1810;  wrote  my  first  book  in  the  summer  of  1810,  at 
Nuremberg,  at  the  house  of  my  beloved  friend  Schubert,  then  went 
to  Berlin,  and  there  received  an  official  appointment,  in  December  of 
the  same  year. 

D.— Breslau.     (1810-1817.) 

In  December,  1810,  I  was  appointed  private  secretary  to  Chief 
Mining  Superintendant  Gerhard,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  Prussian 
department  of  mines.  I  accompanied  him  on  his  official  journeys,  and 
thus  came  to  Breslau,  in  May,  1811.  Here  he  directed  me  to  make 
out  instructions  for  a  geologist  who  was  to  be  sent  to  investigate  the 
Silesian  mountains.  These,  as  I  drew  them,  required  a  great  deal 
from  the  geologist.  When  I  handed  them  to  the  superintendent,  he 
returned  them  to  me,  much  to  my  astonishment.  "The  instructions 
are  for  yourself;"  said  he,  "you  are  to  make  the  examination." 

I  left  immediately,  and  although  it  was  in  the  heat  of  summer, 


*  An  account  of  my  life  and  studies  at  Freiberg  and  Paris  is  given  in  my  '■'■Miscellaneous 
Works,'"  part  ii.  pp.  1-35. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  7*7 

made  my  trip  through  the  mountains  with  great  zeal.  At  this  time 
the  University  of  Breslau  was  organized.  The  appointees  might  be 
divided  into  three  classes.  The  first  were  accomplished  Catholic  pro- 
fessors, some  of  them  having  formerly  been  Jesuits,  and  all  having  be- 
longed to  the  Catholic  University  at  Breslau,  founded  in  1708.  The 
second  were  Protestant  professors,  members  of  the  University  of  Frank- 
fort, dissolved  in  1810.  Among  these  were  the  lexicographer  and 
philologist,  Schneider;  the  theologian,  David  Schultz ;  the  physician, 
Berends,  <fec.  In  the  third  class  were  men  invited  from  very  various 
places  :  as  Link,  Steffens,  Von  der  Hagen  ;  the  mathematician,  Brandes  ; 
the  old  Sprickmann,  formerly  a  member  of  the  Gottingen  Society ; 
Passow,  my  brother  Friedrich  and  myself;  and,  a  little  later,  Wach- 
ler.     My  appointment  was  that  of  Professor  of  Mountain  Mineralogy. 

Having  come  to  Breslau,  I  received,  for  use  in  my  lectures  on 
oryctognosy,  an  exceedingly  meager  collection  of  minerals.  They 
came  originally  from  the  minister,  Count  Reden  ;  but  unfortunately, 
Chief  Mining  Superintendent  Karsten  had  already  selected  out  the 
best  part  of  them  for  the  Berlin  collection.  I  was  placed  in  a  most 
uncomfortable  condition,  for  the  specimens  given  me  were  not  sufficient 
for  my  use  in  teaching ;  and  were,  besides,  so  dirty  that  I  had  my 
hands  full  in  cleaning  them  during  the  winter  term  of  1811-12. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  was  almost  glad  to  serve  two  mas- 
ters— for  besides  my  professorship,  I  was  appointed  Mining  Councilor 
in  the  mining  department  of  Breslau.  In  this  capacity  I  continued 
my  investigations  of  the  Silesian  mountains  daring  the  summer  of  1812. 

Teaching  mineralogy,  in  the  absence  of  the  necessary  means,  could 
not,  of  course,  give  me  much  pleasure.  I  was  in  the  case  of  a  profes- 
sor of  exegesis  without  a  Bible,  a  professor  of  the  Roman  law  without 
the  Pandects,  an  anatomist  without  a  subject.  I  had,  nevertheless,  in 
the  winter  term  of  1812-13,  five  hearers;  who,  as  I  very  soon  saw, 
imbibed  a  general  impression  that  mineralogy  could  be  taught  without 
minerals. 

I  cannot  tell  how  painful  these  lectures  wrere  to  me,  and  how  I  tor- 
mented myself  in  trying  to  do  what  was  impossible.  The  spring  of 
1813  freed  me  from  my  comfortless  position.  Of  Napoleon's  army, 
smitten  by  God,  only  a  remnant  returned  from  Russia.  The  time  for 
freeing  Germany  was  come;  the  King  of  Prussia  had,  by  his  procla- 
mation of  February,  summoned  volunteers  to  Breslau,  where  he  him- 
self, Bllicher,  Stein,  Scharnhorst,  Gneisenau,  and  the  best  blood  of  his 
people  were  gathered.  Crowds  of  youth,  gathering  to  the  call  of  their 
king,  burned  with  zeal  to  be  led  against  the  French,  and  to  tree  their 
fatherland  from  the   tyranny  of  Napoleon.     But  the  king  hesitated 


78 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 


long  before  declaring  war.  Steffens,  without  waiting  for  this  declara- 
tion, delivered  that  remarkable  and  enthusiastic  oration  to  the  stu- 
dents, in  which  he  called  upon  them  to  take  up  arms  for  their  country. 
This  was  a  torch  thrown  upon  powder ;  Steffens  had  spoken  out  what 
had  long  been  in  the  hearts  of  the  youths.  All  offered  themselves  for 
service,  except  those  for  whom  it  was  an  absolute  impossibility.  The 
academical  lectures  were  discontinued  at  once;  military  drills  took 
their  place,  and  all  Breslau  was  one  great  encampment. 

Steffens  was  placed  in  the  guard  ;  and  has  himself  related  his  ex- 
perience during  the  war.  I  entered  the  Silesian  militia,  and  was  after- 
ward appointed  on  Bliicher's  general  staff.  I  have  described  my  life, 
during  that  extraordinary  period,  in  a  little  work  entitled  "  Recollec- 
tions of  the  years  1813  and  1814." 

In  June,  1814,  I  returned  from  Paris  to  Breslau.  The  university 
was  still  in  disorder,  and  I  had  leisure  to  complete  my  researches  in 
the  mountains.  During  the  winter  of  1814-15,  its  members  gradually 
reassembled.  Having  labored  unremittingly,  almost  four  years,  to 
procure  the  purchase  of  a  collection  of  minerals,  I  at  last  succeeded  in 
having  purchased  the  collection  of  the  deceased  mineralogist,  Mender; 
which  was  considered  the  best  in  Freiberg,  after  that  of  Werner. 

My  thoughts  were  now  fully  occupied  with  the  hope  of  thenceforth 
fulfilling  effectually  my  vocation  as  a  teacher,  when  suddenly  the  news 
came,  "He  is  out  again — Napoleon  has  escaped  from  Elba;"  and 
soon,  "  He  is  in  Paris."  Most  of  the  volunteer  youth  were  still  with  their 
standards ;  older  volunteers  agreed  to  serve  again  in  case  of  need ; 
although  this  did  not  appear  to  exist,  all  the  allied  forces  being  yet  in 
readiness  for  immediate  service. 

The  battle  of  Belle  Alliance  and  the  second  takino-  of  Paris  brought 
the  war  to  a  close.  While  the  thoughts  of  all  had  hitherto  only 
extended  to  the  rescue  of  Germany  from  the  French  tyranny,  they  now 
included'  the  purpose  of  freeing  and  purifying  her  from  evils  which 
were  in  part  ancient  and  deep-rooted,  and  in  part  only  the  consequence 
of  the  poisonous  French  influence. 

The  younger  portion  of  Germany,  especially,  was  seized  with  a 
noble  enthusiasm.  The  influence  of  the  war  of  freedom  upon  the  uni- 
versities was  immeasurable.  The  young  men,  who  at  the  summons 
of  the  king  had  entered  the  army  by  thousands,  and  had  fought  honor- 
ably in  its  great  battles,  returned  to  the  universities  in  1815  and  181G, 
to  continue  the  studies  which  the  war  had  interrupted.  In  the  short 
space  of  three  years,  in  which  Europe  lived  through  more  than  in 
three  centuries  before,  was  our  youth  metamorphosed.  Enchanted,  as 
it  were,  previously,  in  the  chains  of  ignoble  and  even  vulgar  academi- 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  *79 

cal  habits,  they  now  felt  themselves  released,  by  the  most  lofty  experi- 
ences. Thus  they  were  delivered  from  the  tyranny  of  false  honor,  and 
saw  the  Comment  in  its  true  form,  as  did  Titania  her  beloved,  when 
freed  from  her  delusion.  True  honor  and  courage,  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  their  country  alone,  were  substituted  in  the  place  of  that  imp, 
the  frantic  "point  of  honor,"  which  was,  by  an  unnatural,  sickly  sensi- 
bility, finding-  itself  wounded  everywhere,  and  seeking  duels  about 
nothing  at  all*  These  contemptible  customs,  partly  derived  from  the 
French,  must  have  appeared  in  a  sufficiently  disgraceful  light  to  young 
men  who  had  fought  at  Dennewitz  and  Leipzig. 

As  in  relation  to  honor,  so,  in  the  place  of  the  former  foolish  aca- 
demical looseness  of  morals,  were  substituted,  in  the  students  who  re- 
turned from  the  war,  purer  moral  ideas  and  principles.  The  reality  of 
life  and  death  had  appeared  to  them,  and  had  made  an  impression 
upon  them.  Many  of  the  volunteers  had  been  Turners  before  the  war ; 
and  they  returned  to  those  exercises  after  it,  with  redoubled  zeal. 

The  student  songs,  partly  renommist  and  obscene,  partly  absurdly 
sentimental,  were  replaced  by  others,  pure  and  powerful ;  and  especi- 
ally by  patriotic  ones. 

The  love  of  country,  awakened  and  strengthened  in  the  volunteers 
by  the  war,  longed  after  the  unity  and  unanimity  of  Germany.  The 
Land smannschaf ten,  at  enmity  among  themselves,  appeared  to  them 
enemies  of  that  unity  and  unanimity. 

Together  with  patriotism  was  awakened  in  them  a  respect  for 
Christianity;  a  feeling,  though  indistinct  and  undeveloped,  that  Ger- 
many, without  Christianity,  is  helpless  and  lost.  Their  motto  in  the 
war  was,  "  With  God,  for  king  and  fatherland." 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  youths,  who  had  fought  like  men 
for  their  country,  should  after  the  war  have  conceived  the  idea  that 
that  country,  freed  and  consecrated  by  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  who 
fell  in  battle,  should  now  go  forward,  purified  and  renewed. 

All  these  elements,  springing  from  the  war  of  freedom,  found  their 
expression  in  the  Burschenschaft,  which  was  intimately  connected  with 
the  Turners.     Of  these  we  shall  now  proceed  to  speak. 

♦Most  of  the  previous  duels  in  Halle  had  originated  "on  account  of  the  broad  stone."  If 
two  students  met  upon  this,  neither  would  turn  out;  or  if  he  did,  he  made  just  as  little  room 
as  possible,  so  as  not  to  appear  a  coward.  If  they  touched,  even  in  the  least,  the  rule  was  that 
a  challenge  followed.  This  "broad  stone"  was  the  summit  stone  of  a  somewhat  arched  pave- 
ment. In  order  to  put  an  end  to  these  pitiful  duels,  the  pavement  was  altered  so  that  the 
"broad  stone" disappeared.  It  is  referred  to  in  the  somewhat  vulgar  student-song,  "0  Jerum, 
Jerum,  Jerum. 


80  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

a.     Founding  of  the  Jena  Burschenschaft,  June  18,  18 1G. —  Wartburg 
Festival,  October  18,  1817. 

In  various  universities,  the  idea  prevailed  of  founding  a  students' 
society,  in  which  the  new  mental  elements  and  ideals  which  we  have 
mentioned,  should  take  a  form,  and  be  called  into  activity.  Jena  was 
foremost,  and  established  a  Burschenschaft,  June  18,  1816,  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  battle  of  Belle  Alliance.*  On  the  11th  of  August,  1817, 
the  Jena  Burschenschaft,  sent  the  following  circular  to  the  Univer- 
sities of  Berlin,  Breslau,  Erlangen,  Giessen,  Gottingen,  Greifswald, 
Heidelberg,  Kiel,  Konigsberg,  Leipzig,  Marburg,  Rostock,  and  Tubingen. 

"Jena,  August  11,  1817. 
"  Greeting  : — 

"  Dear  Friends  : — As  the  jubilee  of  the  Reformation  is  to  be  celebrated  in 
this  year,  we  wish,  undoubtedly  in  common  with  all  good  German  JJurschen, 
since  all  men,  everywhere,  are  intending  to  celebrate  well  this  festival,  to  cele- 
brate it  also,  in  our  own  way.  In  order,  however,  not  to  come  into  collision 
with  the  other  festivities,  which  might  easily  be  disturbed  by  ours,  and  as  the 
celebration  of  the  victory  of  Leipzig  will  fall  upon  the  18th  of  October,  1817, 
we  have  agreed  to  observe  this  festival  on  that  day,  at  the  Wartburg,  near 
Eisenach  ;  firstly,  because  the  fixing  of  that  day  will  give  sufficient  time  for 
attending  the  festival,  without  making  it  necessary  to  neglect  any  thing  of  im- 
portance ;  secondly,  because  those  most  distant  would,  perhaps,  not  attend  for 
the  sake  of  the  festival ;  and  lastly,  that  we  may  observe  a  festival  in  three 
interesting  portions,  — for  the  Reformation,  for  the  victory  of  Leipzig,  and  for 
the  first  free  and  friendly  gathering  of  German  Biirschen,  from  most  of  the 
German  Universities,  upon  the  third  great  jubilee  of  the  Reformation. 

"  With  reference  to  this  triple  purpose,  the  festival  itself  is  so  arranged  that 
we  shall  assemble,  in  the  market-place  of  Eisenach,  on  the  18th  of  October,  as 
soon  as  it  is  light,  proceed  to  the  Wartburg,  and  listen  to  a  prayer  ;  then  that 
we  shall  assemble  again  at  about  10  a.  m.,  either  in  the  open  air,  or  in  the 
Minnesinger-hall  if  it  rains,  when  an  address  will  be  delivered  ;  then  to  take 
breakfast,  and  to  put  off  dinner  until  after  the  divine  service,  appointed  at  2 
p.  m.,  of  the  18th  of  October,  by  the  Consistory  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Weimar, 
in  which  most  of  us  will  wish  to  take  part,  in  order  then  to  partake  of  that 
meal  together,  in  the  Minnesinger  hall.  In  the  evening  we  may  conclude  with 
a  bonfire  for  the  victory,  and  a  joyous  feast.  To  this  festival  day  we  invite 
you,  in  the  most  friendly  manner,  and  request  you  to  be  present  in  as  great 
number  as  possible ;  and  in  case  this  cannot  be,  at  least,  that  you  will  take 
part  by  a  delegation.  It  is  hoped  that  all  who  are  to  be  present  will  be  in 
Eisenach  on  the  17th  of  October.  Every  comer  is  to  go  to  the  Wreath  of  Rue 
Inn,  on  the  market-place,  so  that,  in  case  there  is  not  room  for  him  there,  he 
maybe  assigned  lodgings;  which  arrangement  is  necessary,  provided  many 
come  ;  and  moreover,  will  assist  in  the  forming  of  acquaintances.  Further,  we 
request  each  of  you  to  invite  to  the  composition  of  a  song  to  celebrate  the  day  ; 
and  that  the  same  may  be  sent  to  us  at  least  fourteen  days  before  the  festival, 
that  we  may  be  able  to  have  it  properly  printed.  And  in  particular,  we  request 
you  to  answer  this,  our  friendly  invitation,  where  possible,  by  the  end  of 
August ;  and  to  omit  nothing  which  may  cause  this  festival  to  be  celebrated 
by  a  large  number,  and  thus  to  become  a  gratifying  example  to  all  the  world. 
"  Fare  you  well. 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Burschenschaft  at  Jena, 

"Robert  Wesseuioft,  Stud.  Jar." 

To  this  letter  very  friendly  answers  were  received  from  the  various 

*  Section  24-3  of  the  Statutes  of  the  Jena  Burschenschaft. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  81 

universities;  and  all  of  them,  with  but  one  exception,  accepted,  with 
much  pleasure,  the  invitation  to  the  Wartburg.  The  distant  students 
of  Kiel  answered,  August  28,  as  follows  : 

"Your  letter,  dear  friends,  was  to  us  a  welcome  confirmation  of  all  the  good 
and  beautiful  things  which  we  have  heard  from  Jena ;  and  we  congratulate 
you  on  your  good  fortune  in  having  originated  the  invitation  to  the  festival  of 
the  18th,  and  the  excellent  arrangements  for  it.  Your  invitation  has  excited 
among  us  universal  pleasure  and  enthusiasm  for  the  undertaking  ;  and  it  is 
due  only  to  our  great  distance,  and  the  consequent  insurmountable  difficulty, 
to  many  of  us,  of  the  journey,  that  we  shall  not  be  present  in  a  number  so 
great  as  we  could  wish.  Of  so  much,  however,  we  can  assure  you  with  cer- 
tainty :  that  Burschen  from  this  place  will  be  present  with  you,  and  that  their 
number  will  not  be  less  than  twenty.  In  respect  to  the  song,  we  promise  that 
it  shall  be  sung  in  common  at  the  Wartburg,  as  well  as  the  others  that  shall 
be  sent  in  ;  and  we  will  not  fail  to  send  it  to  you  in  time. 

"  If  this  pleasant  gathering  of  good  Burschen  at  the  Wartburg  shall  be  numer- 
ous enough,  the  occasion  will  be  an  excellent  one  for  considering  many  mat- 
ters of  general  importance. 

"  Fare  you  well,  until  we  shall  ourselves  greet  you  as  friends,  and  celebrate, 
as  Germans,  the  memory  of  our  great  countryman,  who  will  always  be  out- 
most perfect  representative  of  German  national  excellence." 

This  letter,  and  the  other  answers  given  in  the  Appendix*  were 
written  without  any  concert  whatever ;  which  renders  their  agree- 
ment together  remarkable,  and  a  proof  of  the  universality  of  the  new 
spirit  which  had  been  awakened  by  the  war  of  freedom.  We  will  not 
criticise  the  style  of  some  of  these  letters.  When  youth  of  strong 
and  ardent  character  experience  a  profound  moral  change,  this  begins 
with  feeling,  and  only  afterward  develops  into  a  clear  and  conscious 
character.  In  its  first  stage,  there  is  a  sort  of  minority ;  a  want  of 
skill  in  verbal  expression,  which  gives  an  air  of  atFectation  to  their 
unripe  and  exaggerated  style,  without  any  real  falseness. 

The  reply  of  the  Rostockers,  alone,  is  not  liable  to  this  charge;  it 
sounds  like  jesting  at  the  new  period;  but  they  "jested  at  themselves, 
and  knew  it  not." 

After  the  Jena  Burschenschaft  had  received  these  answers,  they 
presented  to  the  prorector,  September  21,  the  following  paper: 

"An  earnest  wish  was  simultaneously  expressed,  in  various  quarters,  for  the 
celebration,  this  year,  at  the  Wartburg,  of  the  great  festival  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, with  ceremonies  at  which  delegates  from  all  the  German  Universities  are 
to  be  present ;  and  it  also  seemed  to  he  appropriate  that  the  invitations  should 
come  from  Jena.  These  universal  wishes  have  been  complied  with,  and  all 
the  German  Universities  notified  to  be  present  at  the  ceremony.  The  day  ap- 
pointed is  the  18th  of  October,  as  the  31st  must  be  observed  by  almost  every 
student  at  his  university,  and  this  day,  also,  is  almost  everywhere  not  in  the 
vacation. 

"  The  common  arrangements  for  the  festivity  will  vary  but  little  from  those 
which  have  before  been  proposed.  Care  will  be  taken  to  secure  brotherly  be- 
havior, such  as  is  appropriate  to  such  a  festival. 

"On  the  evening  of  the  17th,  a  committee,  from  members  of  the  universi- 


*  See  Appendix  V. 
No.  17.— [Vol.  VI.,  No.  2.]— 6  6 


82  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

Ues,  will  be  appointed  to  preserve  peace  and  good  order  during  the  festival, 
and  to  arrange  its  details.     The  ceremonies  are  to  be  simple,  but  dignified. 

"  In  the  morning,  all  participants  are  to  go  in  festive  procession,  with  music, 
to  the  Wartburg,  where,  in  the  Knights'-hall,  the  hymn,  '  Our  God  is  a  strong 
tower'  (Em  fester  Burg  tit  unser  Gott),  will  be  sung,  with  trumpets  and  kettle- 
drums. After  this  a  Bursch  from  Jena  will  deliver  an  appropriate  oration. 
Then  will  be  sung  the  hymn,  '  Lord  God  we  praise  thee.' 

"  The  rest  of  the  forenoon  will  be  devoted  to  social  conversation.  At  12.  a 
meal  will  be  taken  in  common.  After  it  there  may,  perhaps,  be  some  gym- 
nastic exercises. 

"  At  half-past  six  a  bonfire,  for  rejoicing  and  victory,  will  be  lighted  on  the 
beacon  of  the  Wartenberg,  round  which  patriotic  songs  will  be  sung  and  ad- 
dresses made. 

"The  festival  will  then  be  concluded  with  a  pleasant  hour  of  drinking  and 
singing  in  the  Knights'-hall. 

"  By  order  of  the  Jena  Burschenschaft, 

"DURR,   SoiIEIDLER,  WeSSELHOFT." 

The  following  "Order  of  the  festival  at  the  Wartburg,  Oetober  18, 
1817,"  was  now  drawn  up  in  Jena,  and  was  approved  by  a  committee 
of  students  at  Eisenach  :* 

"1.  At  8  a.  K.,  assembly  of  all  the  Barschen  in  the  market-place. 
"2.  At  8i,  forming  of  the  procession  to  the  Wartburg.  The  order  of  the 
procession  will  be  as  follows :  The  Castellan  ;  his  four  assistants,  two  and 
two  ;  music  ;  two  color-guards  ;  the  colors  ;  two  color-guards  ;  the  committee 
from  all  the  universities  ;  all  the  Barschen,  without  precedence  of  universities, 
two  and  two. 

"  3.  Order  of  services  at  the  Minnesinger's  Hall,  in  the  Wartburg  : 
"  Hymn,  '  Our  God  is  a  strong  tower.' 
"  Oration,  by  Hiemann. 
"Hymn,  *  Now  all  thank  God.' 
"  4.  At  12,  dinner  in  the  Minnesinger's  Hall. 

"  The  healths  will  be  given  by  the  managers. 
"  5.  At  2  r.  m.,  return  from  the  Wartburg  to  the  city  church   in  same  order 
as  in  going  up. 

M  6.  After  service,  gymnastics  in  the  market-place. 

"7.  At  6  p.  m.,  general  assembly  of  the  Burschen  for  torch-light  procession 
to  the  Wartenberg,  where  addresses  will  be  delivered,  and  songs  sung. 
"  Eisenach,  October  17,  1817." 

"This  plan,"  says  Kieser,  "having  been  adopted  as  the  basis  of  the 
festival,  only  those  portions  of  the  ceremonies  which  were  performed 
accordino-  to  it,  ought  to  be  considered  as  proceeding  from  the  united 
assembly  of  Burschen  from  the  twelve  universities  of  Germany. 
Whatever  further  was  done  by  individuals,  .  .  .  must  not  be 
charged  upon  the  whole  collectively"! 

The  Grand  Duke  of  Weimar  not  only  gave  his  permission  for  the 
festival,  but  directed  the  authorities  of  Eisenach  to  leave  the  arrange- 
ment of  it  to  the  students,  and  "  not  to  take  any  measures  of  a  police- 

*  We  have  three  descriptions  of  the  Wartburg  festival.  The  first  is  by  Court  Councilor 
Kieser.  who  was  present.  Kieser,  though  enthusiastic  in  his  recognition  of  the  objects  of  the 
BwmchensGhaft,  and  yet  moderate,  declares  himself  strongly  against  th-3  burning  of  th«-  books. 
1  follow,  mainly,  his  clear  account,  and  take  his  vouchers.  Of  a  character  opposite  to  Kiescrs 
book  is  an  anonymous  one,  much  of  which,  both  for  contents  and  style,  the  author  might  well 
disavow.  A  third,  by  Fromman,  is  written  in  youthful  sympathy  with  the  festival  but  is 
basty.  t  Kieser,  p.  15. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  83 

like  character,  and  calculated  to  show  lack  of  confidence  in  them  ;" 
inasmuch  as  of  late  years  the  students  of  Jena  had  "  conducted  them- 
selves in  a  manner  correct  in  a  distinguished  degree."  The  author!- 
ties  complied,  to  the  fullest  extent,  with  this  direction. 

On  the  lVth  of  October  the  students  gathered  in  from  the  twelve 
German  Universities,  to  the  number  of  about  500.  Jena,  alone,  sent 
more  than  200.  The  remainder  were  as  follows :  From  Berlin,  30; 
Erlangen,  20  to  25;  Giessen,  30;  Gottingen,  TO  or  80;  Heidelberg, 
20  ;  Kiel,  30 ;  Leipzig,  15  ;  Marburg,  20  or  25  ;  Rostock  3  ;  Tubingen, 
2  ;  Wiirzburg,  2.  A  committee  of  30  students  were  chosen,  among 
whom  were  Sand,  from  Erlangen  ;  Buri  and  Sartorius,  from  Giessen  ; 
Carove,  from  Heidelberg;  and  Binzer  and  Olshausen,  from  Kiel. 

"  The  18th  of  October  opened.  A  bright  autumn  morning  had  silvered  the 
peaks  of  the  mountain  with  frost,  and  the  Wartburg.  illuminated  by  the  rays 
of  the  ascending  sun,  and  shining  out  with  remarkable  clearness  from  the 
vapors  of  the  mountain,  was  saluted  by  every  one  as  the  sacred  place  of  the 
day.  At  6,  the  ringing  of  all  the  bells  in  the  city  proclaimed  that  the  festival 
was  commenced.  A  second  ringing  summoned  the  Burschenschaft,  at  8,  to  the 
market-place.  The  dimensions  of  the  Wartburg  not  admitting  all  the  assem- 
bled multitude,  it  was  necessary  to  issue  admission  tickets,  of  which  about  a 
thousand  were  given  out.  The  procession  was  gradually  formed,  the  Burschen, 
mostly  clothed  in  black,  taking  the  lead,  decorated  with  oak  leaves  from  the 
neighboring  mountain,  and  going  two  and  two.  The  standard  of  the  Jena 
Burschenschnft,  a  gift  from  the  ladies  and  young  ladies  of  Jena,  at  the  peace  fes- 
tival of  1816,  and  which  had  to-day  the  honor  of  ranging  all  the  universities 
about  it,  was  unfolded  in  the  centre  of  the  whole,  and  the  procession  moved 
toward  the  Wartburg  at  half-past  8,  all  the  bells  ringing,  and  with  festive 
music.'0 

Scheidler,  of  Gotha,  marched  foremost ;  Count  Keller,  of  Erfurt, 
carried  the  banner  of  the  Jena  Burschenschaft ;  and  the  students 
formed  a  procession  extending  a  long  distance,  accompanied  by  in- 
numerable citizens  of  Eisenach  and  strangers.  Four  professors  from 
Jena,  Schweizer,  Oken,  Fries,  and  Kieser,  had  gone  to  the  Wartburg 
in  advance  of  the  procession,  and  were  awaiting  it  in  the  Minnesin- 
ger's Hall. 

"This  hall,  called  also  the  Knights'  Hall,  and  the  chief  beauty  of  the 
Wartburg,  although  lowered  by  nearly  half  its  height,  on  account  of  the  ruin- 
ous state  of  the  walls,  will  hold,  besides  the  gallery  at  one  side,  more  than 
1000  persons.  Its  antique,  unchanged  architecture,  its  small  windows,  the 
columns  supporting  the  roof,  the  wainscoted  and  variously  painted  walls, 
strikingly  decorated  with  a  multitude  of  escutcheons  and  portraits  of  renowned 
princes  of  past  times,  and  just  tastefully  ornamented  for  the  festival,  by  the 
people  of  Eisenach,  under  the  direction  of  Buildings-Inspector  Siilzer,  with  oak 
wreaths,  for  the  feast ;  by  the  partly  faded  wall  decorations,  and  the  dim  light 
of  the  large  hall,  unoccupied  for  centuries,  carried  back  the  mind  of  every 
one  who  entered  to  times  past,  and  especially  to  the  century  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. In  the  middle  of  one  side  a  modest  speaker's  desk  was  erected,  and  oppo- 
site to  it  were  arranged  several  rows  of  seats,  terrace-wise.  Two  students,  sent 
on  in  advance,  had  charge  of  the  arrangements,  in  order  that  the  entrance  of 
the  procession  might  not  be  disordered.     This  made  its  appearance  about  10. 


*  Kieser,  pp.  2-\  23. 


84  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

following  in  serious  silence  the  waving  banner,  which  was  planted  at  the  right 
of  the  desk.  The  managers  of  the  procession,  with  drawn  swords  and  covered 
heads,  formed  a  half-circle  before  the  desk,  and  the  remainder  of  the  audience 
took  their  places  in  the  body  of  the  hall. 

"  After  a  brief,  silent  prayer,  the  singing-leader,  Dflrr,  a  student  of  theology 
at  Jena,  commenced,  with  a  powerful  voice,  the  chosen  festival  hymn,  'Our 
Cod  is  a  strong  tower.'  which  was  sung  by  the  whole  assembly,  to  commence 
divine  service.  Afterward  came  forward  the  orator  of  the  day,  lliemann,  of 
Ratzeburg,  a  student  of  theology  at  Jena,  and  knight  of  the  Iron  Cross,  a  dis- 
tinction which  he  had  gained  on  the  bloody  day  of  victory  at  Belle  Alliance, 
and  ascended  the  desk.  In  a  well-arranged  address,  he  began  by  greeting  with 
modesty  the  highly  respectable  assembly  ;  turning  to  the  purpose  of  the  festi- 
val, he  then  referred  to  the  chief  occurrences  of  those  remarkable  times  to  the 
memory  of  which  the  festival  was  devoted.  He  then  developed  the  needs  of 
the  present  time  ;  showed  that  the  young  men,  mindful  of  the  past  and  the 
future,  must  hold  fast  to  the  good  already  attained,  of  German  freedom  ;  and 
finally,  in  rising  enthusiasm,  invoking  the  shade  of  Luther,  and  of  all  the  noble 
heroes  who  have  fallen  in  the  contest  for  freedom  and  right,  to  be  invisible 
witnesses,  he  offered,  with  sacred  zeal,  in  the  name  of  the  assembly,  this  vow : 
'  That  which  we  have  acknowledged  we  will  maintain,  as  long  as  a  drop  of 
blood  runs  in  our  veins.  The  spirit  which  has  gathered  us  hither — the  spirit 
of  truth  and  justice— shall  so  lead  us  through  our  whole  life,  that  we,  all  bro- 
thers, all  sons  of  one  and  the  same  fatherland,  shall  form  a  brazen  wall  against 
every  outer  and  inner  enemy  of  that  fatherland  ;  that  the  roaring  death  of 
open  battle  shall  not  terrify  us  from  standing  in  the  heat  of  the  tight,  when 
the  invader  threatens  ;  that  the  splendor  of  the  monarch's  throne  shall  not 
dazzle  us  from  speaking  the  strong,  free  word,  when  truth  and  right  demand 
it;  that  we  will  never  "pause  in  the  endeavor  after  every  human  and  patriotic 
virtue.'  He  ended  with  a  simple  but  ardent  prayer  for  the  presence  and  bless- 
ing of  the  Most  High.     Sacred  stillness  pervaded  the  assembly. 

"  After  this  followed  the  hymn  '  Now  all  thank  God,'  sung  by  the  whole 
assembly.  During  the  singing.  Court  Councilor  Fries  was  besought,  by  some 
of  his  pupils,  to  make  an  address  ;  and,  ascending  the  desk,  he  spoke,  with 
deep  feeling,  a  few  heart-felt  words. 

"  Singing  leader  Diirr  then  invoked  the  divine  blessing  :  '  The  Lord  bless  us, 
and  protect  us  !  The  Lord  let  His  countenance  shine  upon  us,  and  be  gracious 
unto  us !  The  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance  upon  us,  and  grant  us  His  peace  ! 
Amen!'  And  thus,  in  deep  devotion  and  feeling,  ended  this  portion  of  the 
festival,  intended  especially  in  remembrance  of  the  Reformation.''" 

"  A  flourish  of  trumpets  from  the  summit  of  the  castle  called  to  dinner  at 
12.  Three  rows  of  tables  were  set  in  the  Minnesinger's  Hall,  and  others  in  the 
adjoining  rooms,  at  which  the  assembly  took  their  places,  the  professors  from 
Jena,  invited  for  their  friendly  sympathy,  in  the  midst.  Gay  songs  enlivened 
still  more  the  company,  already  inclined  to  pleasure  ;  and  above  all.  the  festive 
healths,  given  toward  the  end  of  the  meal,  by  the  managers  of  the  ceremony, 
were  received  and  repeated,  as  expressing  the  inmost  feelings  of  their  hearts, 
with  endless  acclamations,  by  the  whole  assembly.     They  were  as  follows  : 

'"The  jewel  of  <mr  lives.  German  freedom.' 

"'The'man  of  God,  Doctor  Martin  Luther.' 

M'The  noble  Grand  Duke  of  Saxe  Weimar  and  Eisenach,  the  protector  of  the  day.' 

"  '  The  victors  at  Leipzig.1 

'"All  the  German  Universities  and  their  Burthen."1 

"  Then  were  given  by  the  professors  present  : 
"By  Court  Councilor  Kiescr.— '  The  United  German  Burschenschaft,  and  the  noble  spirit 

which  had  united  it.' 
"By  Privy  Court  Councilor  Sclnveizer.— '  To  the  joyful  return  of  this  anniversary.' 
"  By  Court  Councilor  Fries.—'  The  volunteers  of  1818;  ft  model  for  you,  German  Bamchev. 

•'Many  more  healths  followed,  given  by  various  individuals,  as  they  weie 
suggested  by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  banquet,  or  the  occurrences,  relations,  or 
memories  of  the  time  ;  and  the  dinner  ended  after  2  p.  K. 

"Thus  was  concluded  this  dinner  of  about  six  hundred  persons,  who  had 

*  Kieser,  pp.  24-27. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  85 

assembled  here,  under  the  protection  of  a  noble  prince,  in  memory  of  a  great 
occasion."* 

"The  Burschen  had  proposed  to  precede  by  a  public  festival  divine  service 
in  the  city  church  of  Eisenach  ;  and  an  invitation  from  General  Superintendent 
Nebe  having  confirmed  their  intention,  the  procession  now,  accordingly,  took 
its  way  to  the  church.  It  would,  naturally,  seem  a  delicate  matter  to  intro- 
duce to  the  house  of  God  a  company  of  lively  youths,  excited  by  a  joyous 
meal,  the  clink  of  glasses,  and  music,  as  well  as  by  the  festivities  of  the  day. 
But  how  profoundly  the  deep  significance  of  the  festival  had  penetrated  the 
minds  of  all,  was  shown  by  the  fact  that  even  here,  in  the  last  part  of  the 
Wartburg  festival,  not  the  least  disturbance  interfered  with  the  order  and 
quiet  of  the  day. 

The  procession,  in  the  same  order  as  at  the  beginning  of  the  festival,  de- 
scending the  mountain,  approached  the  church,  in  order  to  make  room  for  the 
Eisenach  militia,  then  just  entering  the  church.  Then  the  Burschenschaft 
followed,  taking  the  places  allotted  to  them,  while  their  standard  was  placed 
next  that  of  the  militia,  in  the  choir,  and  the  managers  placed  themselves  in 
brotherly-wise,  together  with  the  officers  of  the  militia,  within  the  choir. 
After  church  music,  the  clerical  orator,  General  Superintendent  Nebe,  delivered 
an  impressive  address,  appropriate  to  the  day,  filling  with  feeling,  not  only,  as 
usual,  the  hearts  of  his  congregation,  but  those  of  the  students  of  the  German 
Universities. 

"As  every  happy  juncture  inspires  happy  thoughts,  so  here,  also,  did  the 
festive  union  of  the  militia  with  the  united  Burschenschaft,  in  the  temple  of  the 
Lord.  After  a  brief  consultation  between  the  officers  of  the  former  and  the 
managers  of  the  latter,  both,  at  the  end  of  the  service,  repaired  to  the  market- 
place, one  in  one  half-circle  and  the  other  in  the  opposite  one,  with  the  stand- 
ards and  leaders  in  the  middle.  Such  inhabitants  of  Eisenach  as  were  unable 
to  find  admittance  into  the  limited  space  of  the  Wartburg,  were  thus  enabled 
to  take  part  in  the  ceremonies.  A  hymn,  written  for  the  occasion,  by  General 
Superintendent  Nebe,  was  distributed,  in  print,  and  sung  to  a  full  accompani- 
ment, and  the  ceremony  ended  with  cheers  for  various  names  proposed,  of 
which  the  last  from  the  militia,  by  their  leader,  Col.  Von  Egloffstein,  was,  '  Our 
beloved  guests,  the  visitors  ;'  and  from  the  Burschenschaft,  '  The  militia  and  the 
noble  citizens  of  Eisenach,  the  friendly  hosts  of  the  day.' 

"The  time  until  twilight,  when  the  torchlight  procession  began  to  ascend 
the  Wartenberg,  was  occupied  with  gymnastics,  in  the  market-place,  chiefly 
by  the  Turners  of  Jena  and  Berlin. "f 

The  Jena  professors  remained  until  this  time.  "  So  far,"  says  Kieser, 
"as  concerns  us,  the  aeademical  instructors  who  were  eye-witnesses 
and  participants  in  the  festival,  I  here  give,  in  the  name  of  my  col- 
leagues, our  public  testimony  to  what  has  already  been  said  by  the 
council  and  citizens  of  the  city  of  Eisenach,  as  well  as  even  the  high- 
est government  authorities  of  the  country,  in  various  publications: 
That  there  was  not  one  movement,  not  one  expression  or  action,  to 
which  the  most  evil  imagination  could  attribute  a  bad  significance,  or 
could  be  blamed  by  the  strictest  censor."]; 

It  might  charitably  be  wished  that  the  festival  had  ended  here. 

But  in  the  evening,  the  students,  with  torches,  went  up  to  the  Wall- 
enberg, which  is  opposite  the  Wartburg,  where  they  were  received  by 
the  Eisenach  militia.  A  song  was  sung,  and  the  student  Rodiger  de- 
livered an  address,  after  which  other  songs  were  sung,  and  a  collection 
'made  for  the  poor. 

*  Kieser,  pp.  23,  29.  t  lb.  pp.  30,  81.  X  lb.,  p.  82. 


8G  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

Bat  there  now  followed  a  proceeding  not  in  itself  to  be  excused, 
find  still  more  lamentable  on  account  of  its  consequences: 

"  Some  Burschen,  with  a  great  basket  full  of  books  In  their  arms,  a  pitchfork 
In  band,  and  with  great  black  tickets,  on  which  were  printed,  in  staring 
letters,  the  names  of  the  condemned  books,  appeared  by  the  most  fiercely 
blazing  of  the  wood-piles.  This  new  and  unexpected  appearance  attracted  a 
multitude,  who  formed  a  compact  ring  around  the  actors.  After  a  short  ad- 
dress, in  which  Luther's  burning  of  the  papal  bull,  at  Wittenberg,  in  1520, 
was  cited  as  an  example,  and  the  un-German  sentiments  of  the  authors  con- 
demned, the  titles  on  the  tickets  were  read  aloud,  and  then,  with  the  books, 
taken  out  of  the  basket,  a  few  at  a  time,  with  the  pitchfork,  and  committed  to 
the  flames. 

"  It  was  natural  enough  that  the  assembled  crowd  should  applaud  the  act, 
if  only  from  the  suddenness  of  the  show,  and  because  un-German  senti- 
ments were  being  punished  ;  although  most  of  the  books  were  unknown  to 
them. 

' '  There  were  put  into  the  fire  : 
"  1.  F.  Ancillon — On  Sovereignty  and  Organization  of  States. 
"  2.  Fr.  Von  Colin — Confidential  Letters. 
"8.         "  "        Candid  Pages. 

"  4.  Crome — Germany's  Crisis  and  Rescue. 

"  5.  Dabelow — The  13th  Article  of  the  Act  of  the  German  Union. 
"6.  K.  L.  Von  Haller — Restoration  of   Political  Science;  or,  Theory  of  the 
Natural  Social  Condition,  opposed  to  the  Chimsera  of  the  Artificial-civic. 
"  7.  The  German  Red  and  Black  Mantles. 

u8.  J.  P.  Harl — On  the  Universally  harmful  Consequences  of  the  Neglect  of  a 
Police  corresponding  to  the  Necessities  of  the  Times,  especially  in  Uni- 
versity Towns,  and  particularly  for  the  Supervision  of  the  Students. 
"  9.  Immerman— A  Word  of  Encouragement. 

••  10.  Janke — The  Constitution-shrieking  of  the  New  Preachers  of  Freedom. 
"  11.  Von  Kotzebue — History  of  the  German  Empire,  from  its  original  to  its 

destruction. 
"  12.  L.  Theob.  Kosegarten — Address  on  Napoleon's  day,  1809. 
"  13.   Same — History  of  my  loth  year. 
"  14.   Same — Patriotic  Songs. 
-  15.  K.  A.  Von  Kamptz— Code  of  Gensd'armene. 
"  16.   W.   Reinhard— The  Acts  of  the  Union  upon  Whether,  When,  and  How, 

German  Deputies. 
"17.  Bchmalz — Correction  of  a  passage  in  the  Bredow-Venturinian  Chronicle 

for  1808. 
"  18,  19.  Two  later  works  of  the  same,  on  the  same  subject. 
"  20.   Saul  Ascher — Germanomania. 
"21.  Chr.  Von  Benzel-Sternau— Jason  ;  a  periodical. 
"  22.  Zach.  Werner— The  Consecration  of  Power. 
"23.      "  "  The  Sons  of  Thales. 

"  24.  K.  Von  Wangenheim— The  Idea  of  Constitutions  ;  with  reference  to  the 

ancient  Constitution  of  Wurtemberg. 
"  25.  The  Code  Napoleon,  and  Zacharia  upon  it. 
••  2').    Wadzeck,  Scherer,  and  others,  against  the  Turners. 
"  27.  The  Statutes  of  the  Chain  of  Nobility. 
"  28.  The  Allemannia.  and  some  other  newspapers. 

"  After  these  books  were  burnt  to  ashes,  there  was  added,  a  pair  of  stays,  a 
cue  of  hair,  and  a  corporal's  cane. 

"  A  song,  sung  by  the  assembly,  terminated  this  addition  to  the  ceremonies  ; 
and  about  midnight  the  militia  and  the  JJurschenschuft  returned  to  Eisenach."0 

It  is  incomprehensible  how  the  founders  of  this  auto  da  ft  could 
have  found  those  twenty-eight  books  in  Eisenach.     It  was,  therefore, 

*  Kieser,  pp.  36-8S. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  87 

believed  that  tins  burning  was  the  execution  of  a  measure  lono-  before 
resolved  on;  and  that  the  books  had  been  brought  on  purpose.  But 
the  riddle  is  very  simply  solved  by  the  fact  that  what  was  burnt  was  a 
lot  of  imperfect  sheets  from  an  Eisenach  book  concern,  upon  which 
the  titles  of  the  books  were  superscribed.* 

The  students  met  once  more  at  the  Wartburg,  ou  the  19th.  Here 
consultation  was  had  upon  the  relations  of  the  Burschenschaft  to  the 
.  Lands?nannschaften,  which  last  found  some  defenders.  The  discussion 
was,  at  first,  somewhat  violent ;  but  ended  with  thorough  reconcilia- 
tion of  the  contestants;  they  celebrated  the  "Brotherly  League  of 
Unity,"  and  at  noon,  partook  together  of  the  holy  sacrament. 

On  the  20th  of  October  they  separated. 

The  older  among  us  can  remember  what  an  excitement  the  Wart- 
burg festival  made  in  Germany ;  how  some  were  enthusiastically  in 
favor  of  it,  and  others  violently  hostile.  Among  its  adversaries  was 
conspicuous,  Privy  High  Government  Councilor  Von  Kamptz,  who 
presented  to  the  Grand  Duke  of  Weimar  the  following  denunciation  :f 

"Most  Serene  Grand  Dukk  :— Your  Royal  Highness  is,  doubtless,  already  in- 
formed that  a  crowd  of  unruly  professors  and  abandoned  students,  on  the  18th 
of  the  month,  at  the  Wartburg,  publicly  burned  various  writings ;  thereby 
avowing  their  disapproval  of  them. 

"  Although  true  freedom  of  thought  and  of  the  press  actually  and  success- 
fully exists  in  your  Royal  Highness'  states,  yet  it  is  certainly  not  consistent 
with  a  censure  enforced  with  tire  and  dungforks  by  visionaries  and  minors, 
and  a  terrorist  proceeding  against  the  same  freedom  in  other  states.  And  it 
will  always  remain  an  enigma  in  history,  how,  under  your  Royal  Highness'  gov- 
ernment, that  classical  fortress,  from  which,  under  your  most  noble  ancestors, 
German  freedom  of  thought  and  toleration  proceeded  ; — how  the  day  of  the 
festival  for  German  liberty  regained  ; — how  the  memory  of  that  great  and 
tolerant  man  ; — how,  indeed,  our  century,  and  German  soil,  could  be  so 
deeply  dishonored  and  profaned  by  such  a  characteristic  act  of  the  vandalism 
of  demagogical  intolerance.  It  will  not  become  me,  most  gracious  sir,  to  en- 
large upon  the  necessary  consequences  of  such  an  outrage.  Your  Royal  High- 
ness' wisdom  will  clearly  discern  them  ;  even  if  the  history  of  France  did  not 
teach  us  that  the  fire,  which  at  last  consumed  the  throne,  proceeded  from  the 
funeral-piles  which  pardoned  demagogues  had  before  erected  for  writings  in 
defense  of  that  throne. 


*  I  was  so  informed  by  one  of  the  incendiaries ;  and  the  statement  is  confirmed  in  the  "  Ger- 
man Youth"  (Teutscher  Jug  end),  pp.  16,  17 ;  where  it  is  said,  "  The  intention  of  injuring  could 
hardly  have  existed,  since  scarcely  one  of  those  present  knew  either  the  names  of  the  authors 
or  the  contents  of  their  works."  This  is  a  principal  fault  of  the  burning.  Among  the  books 
burned  was  one  by  the  present  Minister  of  Wiirtemberg,  Von  Wangenheim.  This  gentleman 
related  to  me,  that  he  once  met  a  young  man  in  a  public  conveyance,  who  looked  closely  at 
him  for  a  time,  and  then  inquired  if  he  were  the  author  of  the  "  Idea  of  Constitutions?"  Upon 
his  answering  in  the  affirmative,  the  young  man  said  that  he  had  to  accuse  himself  of  having 
committed  a  great  injustice  toward  Von  Wangenheim.  The  latter  replied,  "But  I  do  not 
know  you,  sir;  how  can  you  be  chargeable  with  such  an  injustice?"  "I  burned  your  book,*' 
was  the  answer,  "at  the  "Wartburg  festival."  "  If  you  did  that,"  answered  Von  Wangenheim, 
'•  you  are  entitled  to  my  heartiest  thanks.  I  used,  previously,  to  be  charged  with  being  a  dema- 
gogue. But  your  burning  my  book  relieved  me  so  entirely  from  that  charge  that  I  have  not 
since  been  obliged  to  answer  it."  But  so  much  the  more  reason  had  the  young  man  to  blame 
himself.    He  had  richly  expiated  his  fault,  however.  tKieser,  p.  185. 


88  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

"It  is  the  honor  which  was  granted  to  one  of  my  own  works,  of  hearing  a 
part  in  this  auto  da  fe,  the  first  in  Germany,  and  thus  far  the  only  one  in  your 
Royal  Highness'  states,  which  is,  as  it  ought  to  he,  the  single  suhject  to  which 
I  shall  confine  myself,  at  least  on  this  occasion. 

"  Among  the  books  by  the  burning  of  which  these  heroes  of  the  Wartburg 
have  so  well  and  distinctly  proclaimed  what  freedom  of  tbe  press  it  is  that 
they  and  their  adherents  desire,  was  the  Code  of  Gensd'armerie,  published  by 
me  a  few  years  ago,  of  which  I  most  humbly  present  your  Royal  Highness  a 
copy  herewith. 

"  Condescend  to  observe,  from  it,  that  it  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a 
mere  collection  of  the  laws  of  various  princes,  including  also  your  Royal  High- 
ness' self,  on  the  subject  of  gensd'armes  :  to  which  end  will  your  Royal  Highness 
condescend  to  read  the  published  law  on  that  subject,  as  printed  in  full  by 
yourself,  pp.  859  to  3G9  ;  and  by  your  most  noble  and  noble  relatives,  pp.  277 
to  401. 

"This  Code  contains,  nowhere,  my  own  thoughts,  nor  my  own  principles; 
and  therefore,  to  my  lively  regret,  I  have  not  the  honor  of  the  disapproval  of 
the  collected  unripe  Solons  of  the  Wartburg. 

"  But  it  was  the  laws  and  subscriptions  of  kings,  and  other  princes,  and  also 
your  Royal  Higbness'  own  laws,  which  have  been  publicly  burnt  in  your 
Royal  Highness'  own  states,  by  your  Royal  Highness'  own  servants  and  sub- 
jects ;  and  which,  in  the  intention  of  these  censors  by  fire,  were  publicly  in- 
sulted and  disgraced. 

"  If  I  were  not  the  subject  and  servant  of  a  German  prince — if  I  were  not  a 
German  citizen — the  honor  and  peace  of  Germany  could  not  be  important  to 
me  ;  I  could  see,  with  entire  personal  indifference,  such  a  demagogical  outrage  ; 
and  indeed,  merely  as  author  of  the  Code  of  Gensd'armerie,  I  could  only  be 
pleased  to  see  the  urgent  necessity  of  the  institution  whose  laws  I  had  collected, 
demonstrated,  and  confirmed. 

"  My  supposition  that  in  the  court-martial  of  censors  at  the  Wartburg,  there 
were  many  to  whom  the  peace  and  good  order  of  our  country  was  a  great  grief, 
and  who  would  much  prefer  it  to  be  in  Germany  as  in  Italy,  where  honest  citi- 
zens have  to  buy  safety  from  robbers,  is  fully  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  in 
the  incendiary  letters  written  from  the  Wartburg,  insulting  the  police  systems 
established  in  all  the  German  states,  and  first  in  those  of  your  Royal  Highness, 
the  reason  alleged  is,  that  no  police  is  necessary  in  Germany. 

"  But  is  such  a  proceeding  consistent  with  the  respect  for  foreign  powers, 
and  for  their  laws,  publicly  proclaimed  this  very  year  ?  Is  it  an  evidence  of 
real  freedom  of  thought,  toleration,  and  public  spirit  ?  In  what  terms  will  his- 
tory, particularly  the  history  of  German  civilization,  distinguish  this  outrage 
in  her  annals?  What  advantage  will  arise  from  it  to  culture,  science,  and 
social  order  ?  The  most  profound  respect,  which  I  feel  I  owe  to  your  Royal 
Highness,  forbids  me  from  answering  these  and  many  other  questions. 

"  It  is  proper  for  me  to  confine  myself  to  the  collection  published  by  me,  of 
the  laws  of  your  Royal  Highness,  and  other  princes  ;  and  inasmuch  as  I  may 
not  flatter  myself  that  that  collection  is  known  to  your  Royal  Highness,  I  ven- 
ture to  present  it,  accompanied  with  these  most  respectful  observations,  with 
the  same  unbounded  respect  in  which  I  shall  die. 

"  Your  Royal  Highness'  most  humble  subject, 

"  Karl  Albert  Yon  Kamptz, 
"Royal  Acting  Privv  High  Government  Councilor  and  Chamberlain. 

"  Berlin,  9th  Nov.,  1817." 

The  tone  of  this  denunciation  is  such  as  to  violate  all  respect  clue  to 
the  Grand  Duke  ;  and  the  more,  as  this  prince  had  shown  so  favorable 
and  friendly  a  disposition  toward  the  festival.  This  was  doubly  unjust; 
for  the  burning  of  the  books,  as  we  have  seen,  was  only  an  unfortunate 
accident,  due  to  a  few,  and  the  rest  did  not  even  know  of  it.  Hen* 
Von  Kamptz,  however,  holds  all  those  present  at  the  festival  alike  re- 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  89 

sponsible  for  the  excess  of  a  few  ;  and,  it  might  be  said,  indirectly,  the 
Grand  Duke  himself. 

In  opposition  to  this  denunciation,  and  many  other  attacks  upon 
the  Wartburg  festival,  stands  a  dignified,  earnest,  and  kind  report  from 
the  Weimar  Ministry  of  State,  from  which  Kieser*  gives  the  following- 
extract  : 

"The  assembly  of  our  students  from  the  various  German  Universities,  at 
the  Wartburg,  on  the  18th  of  October,  for  the  celebration  of  that  day,  as  well 
as  for  the  jubilee  festival  for  the  Reformation,  is  the  subject  of  so  many  uneasi- 
nesses, and  of  such  various  constructions,  that  a  thorough  acquaintance  with 
the  proceedings,  the  origin,  and  the  spirit  and  significance  of  this  assembly  is 
unquestionably  desirable  and  necessary.  The  undersigned  considered  it  his 
bounden  duty  to  collect  the  fullest  information  upon  the  occurrence,  and  to 
lay  it  before  your  Royal  Highness.  Your  Royal  Highness  will  be  able  to  con- 
vince yourself,  from  it,  that  as  this  festival  proceeded  from  an  idea  laudable  in 
itself,  and  free  from  any  political  intention  ;  it  was,  it  is  true,  undertaken  and 
carried  out  with  youthful  enthusiasm  ;  but  that  whatever  seems  blamable  in  it 
was  only  accidental,  and  is  to  be  charged  only  upon  a  few  individuals.  There 
has  been  no  occasion  so  well  calculated  to  remind  the  various  German  nation- 
alities of  the  necessity  of  unity  to  their  common  welfare,  as  that  of  the  18th 
of  October.  From  separation  proceeded  the  wretched  domination  of  Napoleon, 
whose  grievous  consequences,  in  the  distracted  condition  of  every  country,  al- 
most every  family  has  felt  ;  and  it  was  the  re-establishment  of  their  unity 
which  glorified  the  victory  whose  recollection  can  never  be  lost  from  any  Ger- 
man breast.  All  the  German  Universities  yet  have  among  their  students 
youths  who  took  an  active  part  in  that  glorious  victory.  Some  of  these  be- 
lieved the  festival  of  the  18th  of  October  a  most  suitable  occasion  for  removing 
also  from  the  universities  the  divisions  which  had  always  been  originated  and 
maintained,  during  centuries,  and  in  spite  of  numerous  prohibitions  by  the  vari- 
ous states  and  by  the  empire,  by  the  Landsmannschaften,  Orders,  and  other  such 
societies  ;  and  which  had  been  the  sources  of  innumerable  and  unhappy  divis- 
ions, not  seldom  extending  to  the  states  in  whose  service  the  youths  afterward 
held  public  positions.  With  this  view,  and  in  this  sense,  the  festival  in  mem- 
ory of  the  great  reformer,  and  in  commemoration  of  the  union  of  people  and 
princes,  on  the  18th  of  October,  at  the  Wartburg,  was  proposed  to  be  used  as 
a  general  Burschen-feativul,  and  invitations  were  accordingly  sent  from  Jena 
to  all  the  universities.  A  short  time  before  your  Royal  Highness'  return  from 
a  journey,  and  a  few  weeks  before  the  fulfillment  of  this  before  unknown  de- 
sign, the  first  information  of  it  came  here.  It  was  clearly  too  late  to  prevent 
it,  and  it  therefore  only  remained  to  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  all  disorders 
and  excesses.  And,  indeed,  no  good  reason  existed  for  opposing  this  praise- 
worthy beginning  of  the  work  of  destroying  the  long-prohibited  Landsmann- 
schaften and  Orders.  With  the  permission  of  your  Royal  Highness,  the  police 
authorities  of  Eisenach  were,  for  this  purpose,  advised  of  the  expected  coming 
of  a  number  of  students,  and  directed  to  take  measures  for  their  accommoda- 
tion. It  was  believed  the  surest  method  of  preserving  good  order  and  quiet, 
to  place  confidence  in  the  honorable  feelings  and  expressed  intention  of  the 
young  people,  and  to  let  them,  themselves,  take  charge  for  that  purpose.  This 
confidence  was  not  abused.  All  the  eye-witnesses,  including  the  higher  author- 
ities of  the  circle  of  Eisenach,  testify  to  the  religious  solemnity,  the  dignified 
bearing,  and  the  feeling,  with  which,  on  the  whole,  the  festival  of  the  18th  of 
October  was  celebrated.  It  is  certainly  not  a  blameworthy  spirit  which  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  whole  order  of  exercises  ;  for  the  festival  of  October  18th,  at  the 
Wartburg,  afterward  in  the  church,  at  the  second  assembly,  on  the  19th,  at 
the  Wartburg,  and  at  the  partaking  together  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  young 
men  vowed  to  each  other  brotherly  love  and  unity,  and  removal  of  all 
divisions  and  orders  among  themselves  ;  and,  as  an  immediate  consequence  of 

• — — — — — — ■ — ' 

*  Kieser,  p.  18S. 


90  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

this  agreement,  there  now  prevails  among  the  students  at  Jena  a  grade  of 
morality,  and  a  strict  observance  of  the  laws  of  the  land,  the  enforcement  of 
which  has  heretofore  been  vainly  striven  for  by  the  authorities.  While  this 
praiseworthy  design,  and  the  inspiring  idea  of  a  beautiful  unbroken  unity  in- 
fluenced the  body  of  the  assembly,  it  could  not  but  happen  that  there  would 
be  some  present  who  would  fail  to  comprehend  the  true  signilicance  of  the  oc- 
casion, and  who,  not  controlled  by  their  more  intelligent  fellows,  would  be 
guilty  of  wanton  acts.  And  thus  it  did,  in  fact,  happen,  that  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  evening,  when  the  minds  of  all  the  young  people  were  excited  by 
the  flames  of  the  festival  bonfire,  that  a  few  strangers,  apparently  not  all  of 
them  students,  were  guilty  of  the  wanton  act  of  burning  certain  books,  with 
many  unseemly  expressions.  It  is  certain  that  but  very  few  of  the  students 
had  any  previous  knowledge  of  this  auto  da  fe,  so  called  ;  and  that  most  of  the 
books  burned  were  unknown  to  them,  from  which  facts  many  misconceptions 
arose,  which  spread  rapidly,  and  as  usual,  have  become  much  magnified.  It 
is  altogether  false  that  the  Acts  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  and  of  the  Holy 
Alliance  were  among  the  works  burnt.  It  must  be  confessed,  with  concern, 
that  Professor  Court  Councilor  Fries  has  printed  an  address  to  the  students, 
which,  although  his  personal  character  forbids  any  suspicion  of  wrong  inten- 
tions, by  its  entire  want  of  good  taste,  as  well  as  by  its  unseasonable  mystical 
ambiguities,  is  reprehensible,  and  has  deserved  the  disapprobation  of  your 
Royal  Highness  5  and  that  the  same  gentleman,  carried  away  by  love  of  his 
pupils,  and  intending  to  oppose  a  damaging  calumny,  has  expressed  himself, 
in  the  public  papers,  upon  the  occurrence,  with  less  than  the  proper  calmness 
and  dignity.  He  has  well  expiated  the  hastiness  of  his  unwise  proceedings, 
by  having  received  an  intimation  of  your  Royal  Highness'  displeasure,  and  by 
having  been  subjected,  from  various  quarters,  to  the  lash  of  satire.  The  state- 
ment is,  however,  due  to  him  and  to  the  other  instructors  who  were  at 
Eisenach,  that  they  were  not  present  at  the  bonfire  on  the  mountain  ;  an  un- 
fortunate occurrence,  for  it  may  be  added  that  their  presence  would,  perhaps, 
have  restrained  the  petulance  of  the  young  people.  This  was  the  plain  course 
of  the  affair,  which,  through  misunderstandings,  and  lack  of  official  accounts, 
which  have  only  now  been  received  of  a  reliable  character,  has  been  much  dis- 
torted, and  represented  in  the  public  papers  as  of  importance.  Your  Royal  High- 
ness will  herefrom  be  enabled  to  conclude  that  the  anxieties  which  have 
sprung  up  are  without  a  foundation  ;  and  it  remains  with  your  Royal  High- 
ness' wisdom  to  determine,  whether,  besides  the  investigation  already  ordered 
for  the  originators  and  participants  in  the  burning  of  Von  Kamptz'  collection 
of  police  ordinances,  the  prohibition  already  issued  against  the  proposed 
Burschen  Gazette,  and  the  renewed  severe  admonition  to  the  editors  of  the  Op- 
position paper  and  the  People's  Friend,  any  further  measures  to  prevent  ill 
consequences  are  needed.  As  several  of  those  present  at  the  ceremony  at  the 
Wartburg  were  from  Berlin  and  the  Royal  Prussian  States,  and  were  not  stu- 
dents, it  would  not  be  improper  to  request  the  co-operation  of  the  Royal  Prus- 
sian Government,  so  far  as  is  compatible  with  the  Constitution  of  the  Duchy, 
as  fixed  and  guaranteed  by  the  guarantee  of  the  German  Union. 

"  Kakl  Wiuielm,  Bauon  Von  Fritz. 
"Weimar,  Nov.  10,  1817." 

However  bad  these  immediate  consequences  of  the  festival,  the 
storm  was  appeased  by  the  publication  of  this  dignified  and  truthful 
report,  as  is  more  especially  evident  from  the  following  circular,  of 
December  19,  1817,  issued  by  Count  Von  Edling,  to  all  the  residents 
and  agents  of  the  Grand  Duke  : 

"  I  hasten  to  inform  you  that  his  Highness  the  Prince  Von  Hardenberg  and 
his  Excellency  Count  Von  Zichy  have  been  here,  and  have  performed  the  com- 
mission intrusted  to  them.  As  I  desire  to  anticipate  all  false  conjectures,  I 
have  the  honor  of  sending  you  the  details  of  the  same,  of  which  I  beg  you  will 
make  immediate  use.  The  Prince  Von  Hardenberg  and  the  Count  Von  Zichy 
presented  to  his  Royal  Highness  the  Grand  Duke  the  letters  of  their  respective 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  91 

sovereigns.  These  letters  have,  throughout,  called  for  the  grateful  acknowl- 
edgments of  his  Royal  Highness,  as  giving  him  indubitable  proofs  of  the  con- 
fidence and  good  wishes  with  which  he  is  honored  hy  his  Majesty  the  Emperor 
of  Austria  and  his  Majesty  the  King  of  Prussia.  The  request  that  lie  will  ad- 
here to  the  measures  which  may  he  taken  at  the  Diet  of  the  Union,  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  a  just  and  liberal  freedom  of  the  press,  entirely  coin- 
cides with  the  wishes  of  his  Royal  Highness  the  Grand  Duke,  who  has  always 
considered  that  a  general  regulation  of  this  matter  was  necessary  and  indispens- 
able for  the  maintenance  of  order,  and  the  commercial  weal  in  Germany. 

"  As  Count  Von  Zichy  desired  to  convince  himself,  personally,  of  the  spirit 
prevailing  in  Jena,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  accompanying  him  thither  ;  and  al- 
though the  writings  of  a  few  extravagant  individuals,  in  reference  to  the  fes- 
tival of  the  18th  October,  have  with  justice  attracted  the  animadversions  of 
the  better  part  of  Germany,  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  the  order,  discipline,  and 
good  feeling  which  prevail  among  the  students  at  Jena,  and  particularly  among 
the  subjects  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Austria  there,  have  convinced  his 
excellency  that  matters  are  not  there  as  they  have  been  reported. 

"  This  result  must  be  gratifying  to  all  those  who  take  a  lively  interest  in  the 
occurrence  ;  and  we  may  congratulate  ourselves  that  the  affair  was  intrusted 
to  the  experience  and  wisdom  of  Prince  Von  Hardenberg,  and  the  well-known 
rectitude  of  Count  Von  Zichy.  Their  mission  must,  if  possible,  knit  still  more 
closely  the  bonds  which  have  so  long  united  his  Royal  Highness  with  their 
sovereigns. 

"  With  the  assurances  of  my  distinguished  consideration,  &c,  &c." 

This  paper  shows  both  how  much  excitement  was  caused  by  the 
Wartburg  festival,  and  how  important  it  appeared  to  the  governments 
of  Prussia  and  Austria. 

b.     Founding  of  the  General   German  Burschenschaft. 

On  the  anniversary  of  the  Wartburg  festival,  October  18,  1818, 
delegates  from  fourteen  universities  met  at  Jena,*  and  founded  the  Gen- 
eral German  Burschenschaft,  whose  statutes  are  given  in  the  Appendix.f 

They  determined  (§  2),  upon  equality  of  right  and  duties,  in  all 
Burschen,  and  that  their  purpose  was,  "  Christian  German  education 
of  every  mental  and  bodily  faculty  for  the  service  of  the  fatherland." 
No  duels  were  to  be  fought  between  members  of  the  Burschenschaft 
(§  20).     Foreigners  could  not  become  voting  members. 

The  Constitution  of  the  Jena  Burschenschaft  goes  more  fully  into 
principles  and  details  J  It  gives  full  definitions  of  the  executive  and 
legislative  powers,  for  each  separate  office  in  the  Burschenschaft,  and 
for  the  order  of  business  in  their  meetings.  The  place  of  exercising 
(Tumplatz),  is  taken  under  their  protection  (§§  15  and  229).  Those 
admitted  into  the  Burschenschaft  must  be  Christians,  Germans,  and 
honorable  (§  1G8).     The  Burschenschaft  is  called  "  Christian  German." 

No  difference  of  birth  is  recognized  among  the  members  of  the 
Burschenschaft,  and  they  call  each  other  "thou"  (§§  194,  195).  Only 
"greater  or  less  experience"  is  a  basis  of  distinction  (§  197) ;  and  it  is 
on  this  principle  only  that  students  are  eligible  to  the  committee 
after  their  second  term  at  the  university,  and  to  the  managing  board 

*  Haupt,  p.  52.         t  lb.,  p.  257.    Appendix  IV.— (A.)        %  lb.,  p.  204.     Appendix  IV.— (B.) 


92  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

after  their  third  (§  198).  "But  these  distinctions  shall  not  occasion 
any  younger  member  to  be  reckoned  inferior  to  an  older;  for  it  is  only 
individual  excellence,  not  years'  standing  which  can  be  alleged  in  favor 
of  members"  (§  199).  This  paragraph  is  a  most  distinct  declaration 
against  Pennalism,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  extended  down  to  our  own 
times. 

The  statutes*  of  the  General  Burschenschaft,  and  of  that  of  Jena, 
seem  to  have  been  drafted  by  students  at  law,  and  with  a  judgment 
and  breadth  almost  unyouthful.  But  any  one  who  knew  the  youths 
who,  in  the  first  innocent  period  of  the  Burschenschaft,  lived  in  free- 
dom and  unrestrained  vigorous  exercises  within  the  limits  of  these 
laws,  will  make  no  objections  to  this  characteristic.  And  if  any  per- 
son is  disposed  to  criticise  them  sharply,  and  find  them  too  mature  and 
strict,  he  will,  upon  a  comparison  of  them  with  the  Comment  (also  in 
the  Appendix),  find  reason  to  change  his  opinion,  and  to  look  favora- 
bly upon  them. 

E.— Breslau.     (1817-1819.) 

The  influence  of  the  Wartburg  festival  and  of  the  foundation  of  the 
Burschenschaft  spread  like  wildfire  to  all  the  Protestant  universities  of 
Germany,  and  to  Breslau  among  the  rest.  Here,  the  members  of  the 
Burschenschaft  were  also  the  most  active  Turners.f  The  history  of 
the  Breslau  Turning-ground,  already  given,  is  actually  that  of  the 
Burschenschaft  of  that  place,  except  that  the  former,  as  recognized 
by  the  government,  comes  more  into  the  foreground.  The  opponents 
of  the  Burschenschaft,  and  of  the  Turning  system,  accused  the  young 
men,  especially,  of  premature  and  ill-regulated  political  action.  The 
reader  will  learn  the  nature  of  the  various  accusations  made  from  the 
following  dialogue,  in  which  I  endeavored  to  delineate  them  :\ 

Taming  and  the  State.     (Otto — Georg.) 

0.  Dear  Turners-defender,  will  you  answer  me  again  to-day  ? 

G.  It  will  be  sure  to  be  once  more  "  Complaints,  nothing  but  com- 
plaints !" 

O.  What  we  are  to  become  very  fond  of,  a  profound  writer  says,  we 
have  first  to  fight  stoutly  against. 

G.  A  beautiful  sentiment !  You  will  give  me  good  hopes  that  you 
will  become  a  true  adherent  of  the  Turning  system.  But  what  are 
your  new  objections  ? 

*  As  found  in  Ilaupt     I  do  not  know  that  they  have  been  printed  elsewhere, 
t  Gymnasts. 

$This  dialogue  first  appeared  in  181 S.  in  the  Silesinn  Provincial  Gazette.  I  reprint  it  verba- 
tim, as  a  contribution  to  a  picture  of  the  patriotic  ideas,  aspirations,  and  struggles  of  the  period. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  93 

0.  One  man  said  to  me  that  the  system  was  only  a  coarse  system 
of  bodily  exercise,  which  neglected  the   mind.     Are  children  to  be 
made  tumblers  and  rope-dancers?      And   a  little  afterward,  another 
complained  that  the  Turning  was  well  enough,  if  it  were  only  confined 
to  bodily  exercises;  but  that  all   manner  of  mental  instruction  was 
connected  with  these  ;  a  useless  plan.     What  is  your  answer  to  these  1 
G.  As  an  advocate,  I  ought  not  to  have  to  make  any  answer  at  all 
to  two  objections  so  diametrically  opposite ;  but  I  will  endeavor  to  il- 
lustrate the  point  to  which  both  relate.     Jahn  by  no  means  confined 
himself  to  a  comprehensive  description  of  and  instruction  in  the  various 
bodily  exercises,  their  mutual  relations,  and  influence  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  body.     He  felt,  very  clearly,  that  what  the  ordinary  mas- 
ters of  fencing,  swinging,  riding,  &c,  had  taught,  as  matters  of  bodily 
application  only,  must  be  illustrated  by  an  intellectual  element. 
0.  Can  you  not  describe  this  element  more  fully? 
G.  It  is  difficult,  at  the  beginning  of  a  great  development,  to  fix  upon 
the  germ  of  a  powerful  principle  which  is  to  live  and  work  in  mani- 
fold forms  and  deeds  for  coming  centuries.     It  can  only  be  imagined. 
Its  efficiency  through  Jahn  and  others  was  not  its  only  efficiency.     Its 
most  marked  development  was  in  the  recent  Turners,  in  whose  hearts 
it  dwelt  and  worked,  chaining  them  to  the  Turning-ground  with  an 
attraction  more  powerful  than  could  have  been  that  of  merely  bodily 
exercises. 

0.  But  its  adversaries  say  that  this  was  a  revolutionary  spirit. 
G.  As  was  Luther's;  as  are  all  to  whose  renovating  power  human- 
ity owes  eternal  youth. 

O.  That  is  not  what  they  mean.  They  refer  to  a  Jacobinical  revo- 
lutionary spirit. 

G.  Many  things  may  be  misunderstood.  But  this  misunderstanding 
could  not  happen  to  any  one  earnestly  seeking  to  comprehend  the 
Turning  system  or  the  future  of  Germany.  But  for  this  is  necessary 
the  unprejudiced  reading  of  works  on  Turning  and  related  subjects  ;  and 
still  more,  thorough  observation  of  the  system  itself,  friendly  intercourse 
with  the  Turners,  and,  most  of  all,  a  comprehension  of  the  errors  and 
sins  of  the  times,  and  a  heartfelt  desire  to  help  them. 

O.  Can  you,  then,  really  disprove  this  accusation  of  Jacobinism  ? 
G.  Jacobinism  !  These  opponents  should  consider  what  words  they 
use.  Even  if  they  believed  that  the  friends  of  Turning  were  in  an 
error,  they  would  have  to  do  them  the  justice  of  admitting  that  they 
meant  honorably.  And  they  compare  them  with  the  Jacobins,  those 
most  abominable  productions  of  hell  that  ever  appeared  in  human 
form  ! 


94  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

O.   But  the  Turners  must  have  given  some  occasion  for  the  charge  ? 

G.  I  have  never  heard  any  expressions  at  the  Turning-ground  which 
would  hear,  even  remotely,  such  a  construction.  But,  lest  you  should 
believe  it,  I  will  refer  you  to  matter  in  Jahn's  "  German  Nationality," 
and  "German  Gymnastics." 

0.  Let  us  hear. 

G.  Take  the  Turners'  motto,  "Bold,  free,  gay,  and  pious."*  Is 
that  a  Jacobinical  motto  ? 

0.  No,  indeed. 

G.  Or  this  appeal  :f  "  German  people,  let  not  discouragement  lead 
you  into  contempt  for  the  ancient  houses  of  your  princes ;  open  the 
history  of  the  world,  and  seek  for  better."     Is  that  Jacobinical  ? 

0.  Certainly  not. 

G.  Or  Jahn's  remarks,  that  J  "It  is  an  injustice  to  old  families,  as 
old  as  the  state,  and  often  among  its  first  founders,  to  permit  the 
dogma  of  a  moment  to  have  as  much  influence  as  the  hard  labor 
of  whole  centuries.  If  every  Jack  can,  by  the  prefix  von,  do  as 
much  as  the  traditions  of  early  deeds,  then  can  a  mortal  syllable 
(which  will  be  no  creative  word  in  eternity),  do  as  much  as  the  long- 
ripening  fruits  of  time.  An  ancient  oak  of  a  thousand  years,  and  still 
green,  is  honorable;  and  so  is  an  old  man  who  has  lived  usefully. 
We  remember  how  many  things  they  have  lived  through  and  en- 
dured ;  to  how  many  wanderers  they  have  given  shade  and  coolness. 
No  one  stands  long  before  a  mushroom,"  &c.     Is  this  Jacobinical  ? 

O.  Most  completely  the  opposite. 

G.  Or  when  he  says  that§  "Political  revolutions  have  seldom  done 
good,  and  what  little  they  have  was  but  the  companion  of  an  army 
of  miseries ;"  or  that,]  "Even  in  the  worst  time  of  the  French  period, 
love  to  king  and  fatherland  was  instilled  into  the  hearts  of  the  Turn- 
ers."    Is  all  that  Jacobinical  ? 

0.  His  opponents  must  certainly  never  have  read  Jahn's  works. 

G.  And  they  contradict  each  other,  too;  for  they  sometimes  make 
the  charge  of  Jacobinism,  and  sometimes  find  fault  with  Jahn  and  his 
friend?,  the  advocates  of  Turning,  for  desiring  a  constitution.  When 
did  these  anarchical  king-murderers  desire  a  constitution  ? 

0.  But  I  have  heard  it  said  that  Jahn  and  his  friends  did  not,  them- 
selves, know  what  they  meant  by  a  constitution. 

G.  But  that  is  what  both  everybody  and  nobody  knows.  Every  one 
that  is,  desires  security  in  his  sphere  of  life,  undisturbed  from  without, 

*  Frisc7i,frei,fro7dich  undfromm.    Gymnastics,  p.  233.  t  Nationality,  p.  233. 

%  lb.,  p.  2S6.  §  lb.,  p.  2*3.  |  Gymnastic*,  p.  g&L 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  95 

and  entire  freedom  within  it ;  and  by  a  constitution  he  means  an  instru- 
ment which  will  secure  this  to  himself  and  to  all ;  which  will  leave  to 
the  authorities  the  utmost  freedom  for  good,  but  will  restrain  them 
from  evil.  But  how  such  a  one  can  be  obtained,  certainly  very  few 
and  perhaps  none  can  show. 

0.  That  may  be.  But  I  imagine  it  might  be  for  the  best  if  our 
youth  were  not  troubled  with  any  civic  concerns  whatever. 

G.  Would  you  have  it  so  now?  The  Turning  system  was  organized 
in  1811.  And  not  only  did  it  contemplate  the  training  of  youth  to 
general  acquirements,  but  the  misery  in  which  the  German  fatherland 
was  sunk  was  at  hand,  to  be  held  up  before  their  eyes  as  a  consequence 
of  civic  dissensions  and  intestine  quarrels.  It  was  necessary  to  train 
them  promptly  to  maturity  as  citizens,  for  the  prompt  salvation  of 
their  fatherland  was  necessary.  The  war  of  its  rescue  is  ended ;  and 
what  wonder  is  it  that  its  first  sounds  are  yet  echoing  ? 

0.  I  am  pleased  to  see  that  you  think  an  excuse  necessary  here. 

G.  Not  too  fast.  The  sounds  uttered  then  shall  re-echo  through  all 
time. 

0.  What  sounds? 

G.  "  One  Germany !" 

O.  That  is  your  chief  point,  then?  But  is  it  not  clear  that  the 
greatness  of  Germany  consists  in  the  very  multitude  of  its  nations  and 
princes,  and  that  its  very  life  is  aimed  at  by  these  preachers  of  unity  ? 

G.  You  unreasonable  man  !  If  you  were  advocating  One  Prussia,  or 
One  Austria,  or  One  Bavaria,  would  you  be  in  favor  of  compressing  to- 
gether all  Germany  into  that  one  ?  If  yea,  you  are  right.  But  who  ha9 
any  such  design  ?  The  One  Germany  which  is  desired  is,  free  and 
friendly  confederate  existence  of  all  the  German  nationalities,  in  all  their 
numerous  individualities,  in  mutual  recognition,  respect,  and  love ;  and, 
when  necessary,  in  united  strength  against  external  enemies.  For  cen- 
turies the  Germans  have  been  lamenting  over  the  grievous  internal 
divisions  of  their  fatherland  ;  and  now,  when  the  first  serious  intention 
o(  healing  them  is  shown,  a  howl  goes  up,  from  all  sides,  as  if  the 
utmost  danger  were  at  hand. 

O.  But  the  preaching  of  hatred  to  the  French,  long  after  the  end  of 
the  war,  is  certainly  most  useless  ! 

G.  Useless?  That  is  as  you  take  it.  I  know  of  nothing  more  un- 
worthy than  insults  to  a  subdued  enemy.  Has  it  not  been  repeated, 
even  to  weariness,  yet  not  often  enough  for  some  people,  that  French 
influence  remains  successfully  operative  in  the  inmost  mind  and  heart 
of  numberless  Germans  ;  that  even  yet,  a  French  education  in  manners 
and  language  is  the  highest  ambition  with  an  innumerable  number ; 


96  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

especially  with  a  large  part  of  the  German  nobility,  who  ought  to  set 
a  better  example.  The  war  is  yet  active  against  this  French  power 
within  the  limits  of  Germany. 

O.  But  contempt  for  foreigners,  such  stringent  restriction  to  the 
national  and  popular,  seems  to  me  entirely  unnatural  to  Germans,  and 
entirely  opposed  to  their  cosmopolitan  character. 

G.  Your  charges  stand  in  each  other's  light 

O.  How  so? 

G.  If  you  had  just  now  expressed  apprehensions  lest  Saxony,  Prussia, 
or  Hesse,  should,  by  strictly  limiting  themselves  to  what  is  national, 
or  relates  to  their  national  descent,  lose  their  general  German  charac- 
ter, this  last  charge  of  yours  would  seem  an  extension  of  the  former. 
But  you  expressed  an  apprehension  precisely  opposite ;  lest  the  indi- 
viduality of  the  German  races  should  be  lost  in  a  general  characterless 
Germanization ;  as  a  consequence  of  which  you  must  naturally  fear 
lest  the  German  traits  should  be  lost  in  an  entirely  characterless  cos- 
mopolitanism. And  this  would  be  a  much  better  grounded  fear  than 
that  of  its  opposite,  from  too  strict  a  limitation  of  Germany  within 
itself. 

O.  I  must  admit  that  you  are  right. 

G.  No  one  imagines  that,  in  order  to  live  a  life  of  entire  devotion  to 
his  country,  a  good  citizen  must  have  no  house  of  his  own ;  nor  should 
it  be  supposed  necessary  that  a  German,  in  order  to  live  for  the  good 
of  all  nations,  must  have  no  fatherland.  Is  it  meant  that  the  devil 
should  play  on  the  Germans,  as  those  fools  do  on  the  violin  who  take 
so  much  pains  to  imitate  all  manner  of  instruments  on  it,  but  cannot 
bring  out  the  real  proper  violin  tone?  A  skillful  leader  would  ask 
such  a  player,  What  is  the  use  of  that  poor  and  incompetent  imitation 
of  the  flute  and  the  hautboy,  when  we  have  the  flute  and  the  hautboy 
themselves?  Do  you  expect,  with  your  ape-fiddling,  to  surpass  the 
originals?  You  ought  to  be  ashamed  for  so  dishonoring  your  noble 
instrument,  which  ought  to  lead  all  the  rest  of  the  orchestra ! 

O.  Your  application  is  clear  ;  that  an  imitator  of  all  the  world  is  by 
no  means  a  cosmopolitan. 

G.  Precisely  ;  just  there  is  the  misunderstanding.  "  The  devil  is  the 
imitator  of  God;"  said  the  Jesuits,  who  were  good  judges  of  such  a 
case.  A  few  great  and  gifted  Germans,  like  Goethe  and  Tieck,  for  in- 
stance, have  profoundly  penetrated  and  lived  in  the  spirit  of  foreign 
nations,  with  love  and  sympathy.  They  were  trained  for  this  by 
understanding  and  loving  the  glory  of  their  own  country.  And  with 
these  great  minds  are  confounded  those  who  become  Frenchified  apes, 
because  they  are  too  God-forgottenly  strengthless  to  becomo  German 


THE    GEIiMAX    UNIVERSITIES.  97 

men.  It  is  imagined  to  be  one  and  tlie  same  thing,  whether  a  great 
merchant  become  rich  at  home,  by  honest  trade,  invests  capital  at  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  or  whether  a  bankrupt  peddler,  with  no  home  any- 
where, borrows  wherever  he  goes  and  makes  a  great  display  with  the 
money ! 

0.  But  I  should  fear  that  this  preaching  to  Germans  against  becom- 
ing Gallicized,  might  be  unintelligently  perverted  into  a  truly  unchris- 
tian hate  of  the  Freuch. 

G.  If  you  put  the  matter  upon  conscientious  grounds  you  shall  be 
answered  accordingly.  What  German  is  ready  to  love  the  French  ? 
If  he  is  a  Prussian,  let  him  love  the  Austrians  and  Bavarians  first ;  if 
a  Bavarian,  the  Prussians.  Will  one  who  does  not  love  his  child,  love 
a  stranger?  Do  you  suppose  that  the  Good  Samaritan  loved  strangers 
only,  and  had  no  love  for  his  wife  and  child  and  his  fellows-Samaritans  ? 
Shall  these  empty  cosmopolitans  boast  of  their  Christian  perfections 
and  their  love  of  universal  humanity,  while  they  show  themselves 
heartlessly  indifferent  to  fellow  citizens  and  countrymen  within  the 
narrow  sphere  of  their  own  actual  lives  ?  No.  Only  the  German  who 
loves  all  Germans  with  a  comprehensive,  heartfelt  love,  is  ripe  for  the 
love  of  foreigners  ;  and  as  long  as  be  retains  one  spark  of  hatred  against 
any  German  nationality,  let  him  not  claim  credit  for  the  greater  until 
he  has  fulfilled  the  less. 

O.  You  may  be  right.  But  I  must  return  to  a  previous  inquiry, 
which  you  did  not  answer ;  that  is,  where  is  the  good  of  orations,  about 
civic  affairs,  at  the  Turning-ground  ? 

G.  I  said  before,  that  the  pressing  period  of  1811  demanded  a 
stringent  education.     But  have  you  lately  heard  any  such  orations  ? 

O.  You  know  that  I  have  never  been  upon  the  Turning-ground. 

G.  I  have  been  there,  and  have  heard  no  such  ;  still  less  have  I 
delivered  any.  And  I  agree  with  you  entirely ;  they  are  no  place  for 
such.  As  tlie  Turning  exercises  contemplate  the  development  of  the 
human  body,  not  civil  training  for  a  definite  future  occupation,  for 
smiths,  carpenters,  or  miners ;  so,  in  like  manner,  the  mind  should  not 
be  trained  in  a  civic  direction,  but  in  a  general  development — to  truth, 
faith,  candor,  moderation,  chastity,  hatred  of  lies  and  deceit,  of  drunken- 
ness and  licentiousness.  Let  such  a  mind  be  implanted  in  the  Turners, 
and  it  will  of  itself  develop,  in  the  after  relations  of  life,  into  the  civil 
virtues,  without  any  artificial  direction  toward  them,  or  any  untimely 
hot-house  forcing,  which  seeks  to  anticipate  the  natural  time  of 
ripening. 

O.  But  this  does  not  seem  to  me  consistent  with  the  premature  in- 
struction of  the  Turners,  on  all  occasions,  in  love  of  country. 

No.  17.— [Vol.  VI.,  No.  2.]— 7  1 


98  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

G.  But  do  you  consider  the  fatherland  a  civic  organization  ?  In 
order  to  love  it,  must  one  first  have  received  the  privilege  of  German 
burgh ershi p  ?  Do  you  not  believe  that  a  German  country — a  German 
heaven — bind  even  the  youngest  German  hearts  with  a  thousand  bonds 
of  love  before  they  ever  hear  the  words  "German  State," — and  that  it 
is  this  very  love  which  is  the  very  heart  of  all  the  later  civic  virtues? 

0.  "German  heaven — German  country;"  how  do  these  enchain  the 
child  and  the  youth  ?  His  place  of  abode,  his  immediate  neighbor- 
hood, enchain  him.  "Germany"  is  only  an  idea,  which  he  is  not  even 
able  to  comprehend ! 

G.  How  your  charges  refute  each  other  !  At  one  time  you  say  the 
German  fatherland  is  far  too  narrow  and  confined  for  the  cosmopolitan 
tendencies  of  the  Germans.  And  this  is  believed  by  thousands,  not 
only  of  German  men,  but  of  children  ;  and  the  sphere  of  observation 
of  infants  is  to  be  enlarged  beyond  the  limits  of  Germany,  by  instruc- 
tion in  foreign  tongues,  and  knowledge  of  foreign  lands  and  history. 
And  these  very  same  men  who  think  this  kind  of  instruction  quite 
natural,  because  it  is  usual,  are  displeased  to  have  love  of  country  im- 
pressed upon  the  hearts  of  youth,  as  if  it  were  something  beyond  their 
capacity. 

0.  But  only  tell  me  this :  What  shall  our  youth  understand  by  the 
term  "German  fatherland?" 

G.  Understand  ?  Our  pious  forefathers  made  their  children  pray, 
and  taught  them  edifying  texts  and  hymns.  The  childish  heart  found 
in  devotion  the  life  of  its  life  ;  the  deep  impression  never  perished, 
but  consecrated  their  whole  existence,  to  their  death.  Illuminati 
asked,  What  can  a  child  understand  by  the  names  of  God  and  Christ  ? 
and  prayer,  Bible,  and  hymns  were  thrown  away.  This  was  worse 
than  church  sacrilege ;  it  was  sacrilege  of  the  inward  inborn  holiness 
of  the  heart.  Shall  we,  in  like  manner,  rob  our  children  of  the  name 
of  fatherland,  to  preserve  it  until  their  understanding  is  ripened  ?  The 
name  will  make  no  impression  upon  men — they  will  not  understand 
it — unless  they  have  loved  it  instinctively  from  their  earliest  youth  ; 
unless,  in  the  clod  of  earth  on  which  they  are  born,  they  love,  sym- 
bolically, their  whole  country.  And  fathers  and  teachers  who  would 
impress  upon  the  young  a  love  of  country,  must  love  it  sincerely 
themselves. 

0.  And  also,  at  least,  incline  to  revolution. 

G.  I  think  I  have  thoroughly  refuted  the  charge  of  Jacobinism 
made  against  the  Turners.  But  if  you  should  hear  an  expression 
which  has  a  revolutionary  sound,  reflect  that  it  is  an  echo  of  1813,  the 
year  when  all  Prussia,  from  king  to  peasant,  rose  up ;  and  remember 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  09 

those  who  then  uttered  such  words.  That  period  of  violence  is,  thank 
God,  past;  and  what  is  now  needed  is  quiet  and  peaceful  develop- 
ment. But  the  argument  has  another  side,  also.  Every  germinating 
truth  is  revolutionary  against  prevailing  errors;  every  germinating 
virtue,  revolutionary  against  prevailing  vices  opposed  to  it.  And, 
therefore,  there  is  always  an  outcry  at  the  rising  up  of  new  youthful 
truths  and  virtues.  The  current  errors  and  vices  scent  the  coming  of 
a  powerful  enemy,  and  the  end  of  their  power. 

O.  But  you  surely  do  not  mean  that  errors  and  vices  should  be 
rooted  out  in  the  bloody  French  revolutionary  fashion  ? 

G.  How  can  you  ask  so  foolish  a  question  ?  Most  people  have 
learned  enough  by  the  French  revolution,  not  to  believe  decapitation 
a  sure  remedy  for  disorders  in  the  head.  Heaven  protect  us  against 
such  a  casting  out  of  the  devils  through  a  Beelzebub  as  that,  where  the 
evil  spirit  would  return  with  seven  others  worse  than  himself!  But  in 
Prussia  there  is  no  call  for  any  remedy  of  the  kind. 

O.  And  what  protects  Prussia  herself  against  a  reformation  ? 

G.  If  a  government  opposes  the  development  of  the  divinely  or- 
dained spirit  of  the  times,  and  persists  in  forcibly  maintaining  anti- 
quated and  obsolete  forms,  in  propping  a  rotten  house  with  rotten 
timbers,  it  has  no  business  to  be  surprised  if  the  roof  tumbles  down  on 
its  head.  But  the  course  of  the  Prussian  government  is  directly  the 
opposite.  It  attentively  observes,  follows,  and  promotes  the  develop- 
ment of  that  spirit;*  and  thus  will  a  renovation  be  peacefully  accom- 
plished, for  the  sake  of  which,  in  France,  millions  of  bloody  sacrifices 
were  offered.  Consider  the  extinction  of  the  convents,  of  many  of  the 
privileges  of  the  nobility,  of  the  guild-restrictions;  the  institution  of 
the  militia. 

0.  Against  all  those  steps  I  have  heard  much  outcry,  especially  of 
late. 

G.  And  no  wonder.  I  have  cried  out  against  them  myself.  Every 
process  of  renovation  causes,  for  a  time,  an  uncomfortable  state  of 
affairs;  like  that  when  one  removes  from  an  old  and  failing  house,  but 
in  which  he  has  lived  happily,  into  a  new  one,  handsomer,  but  not 
yet  put  in  order.  The  old  house  is  empty  and  waste ;  and  in  the  new 
one  every  thing  is  in  confusion  ;  if  we  would  sit,  there  are  no  chairs, 
and  if  we  would  lie  down,  no  bed.  We  may,  naturally,  be  a  little  im- 
patient; but  who  would  lament  as  if  he  had  no  house  at  all,  and  return 

♦"The  spirit  of  the  times"  has,  unfortunately,  come  to  mean  a  wicked  spirit,  opposed  to 
the  eternal  kingdom  of  God.  The  divine— rather  the  God-fearing— spirit  of  the  times  is  tb? 
very  opposite  of  this,  inasmuch  as  it  is  observant  of,  and  obedient  to,  tiio  indications  from 
above.    (Remark  in  1S54.) 


100  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

to  the  beloved  old  ruin  in  which  lie  had  lived  so  many  years  ?  He 
should  rather  be  quiet,  and  help  set  things  in  order. 

O.  Exactly  such  desires  to  return  to  past  times  have  I  heard  from 
many  sources;  and  particular  praises  were  given  to  the  strict  forms  of 
Fried  rich  II. 

G.  They  would  be  just  as  harmful  now  as  they  were  valuable  then. 
The  great  task  for  our  present  government  seems  to  me  to  be,  so  to 
loosen  up  all  relations  that  each  and  every  germ  of  development  can 
grow  freely  and  unrepressed  ;  and  yet,  notwithstanding  this  freedom, 
to  hold  all  surely  together* 

O.  But  what  is  to  be  the  result  of  all  this  ? 

G.  The  government  will  discontinue  what  discontinues  itself,  by  not 
possessing  inward  force  enough  to  maintain  itself.  This  is  the  princi- 
ple of  the  Prussian  suum  cuique,  that  great  principle  of  justice  which 
asks  not,  When  were  you  established?  but,  Are  you  what  you  claim  to 
be  ?  Every  wicked  clergyman  must  be  displaced  who  believes  that  his 
office  shall  consecrate  him ;  every  nobleman  who  thinks  that  his  rank 
will  raise  him,  when  he  is  ignoble,  both  in  thought  and  deed  ;  every  arti- 
san, who  is  untrained  and  unskillful,  but  still  would  keep  himself  from 
being  dismissed  out  of  the  company  of  skillful  masters,  by  means  of 
guild  privileges.  The  man  is  himself,  is  the  new  maxim  ;  the  man  is 
no  longer  to  be  consecrated  by  his  station  ;  but  desecrated  stations  are 
to  be  consecrated  and  restored  to  their  place  by  the  men  who  shall  fill 
them.  Every  man  must  be  fit  for  his  position  in  the  nation ;  and  the 
consciousness  of  this  fitness  must  give  him  inward  peace  and  outward 
safety.     Thus  will  justice  abide  in  the  earth.f 

0.  But,  my  dear  friend,  is  your  paradise  to  develop  itself  by  nothing 
except  mere  negation  of  what  is  obsolete  ?  Do  you  mean  that  .your 
equality  will  be  secured,  after  the  leaving  and  pulling  down  of  the  old 
house,  by  a  new  one,  which  shall  build  itself!  If  you  do,  things  can 
not  be  in  a  more  promising  condition  than  they  are  in  France;  for  the 
pulling  down  business  has  never  been  more  thoroughly  done  than  there. 

*  By  this  is  not,  of  course,  meant  the  dismal  and  devastating  labor  of  moles,  who  root  and 
undermine  the  most  beautiful  meadows  in  such  a  manner  that  not  a  blade  of  grass  can  be  seen; 
but  the  benignant  influence  of  the  spring  sun,  which  warms  and  stirs  up  the  earth,  gray  and 
stiffened  with  frost,  until  all  the  seeds,  resting  in  their  deathlike  winter  sleep,  awaken  and  spring 
up,  and  adorn  the  fields  and  meadows  witli  their  youthful  greenness.     (1854.) 

t  Office  and  social  station  lay  upon  men  a  responsibility  to  God,  which  not  even  the  best  com- 
p'ctely  discharge.  (Luke  xvii.  10.)  But  we  refer,  not  to  conscientious  workers  and  champions  but 
to  those  who.  so  far  from  striving  to  fulfill  the  duties  imposed  upon  them,  even  go  in  the  opposite 
direction,  and  are,  mora'ly,  minus  quantities.  In  reference  to  clergymen  particularly,  church 
authorities  are  to  replace,  as  fir  as  possible,  such  as  are  manifestly  unworthy.  As  far  as  possi- 
ble, I  say  ;  for  that  a  complete  purification  of  the  church  is  not  possible  is  acknowledged  by  the 
eighth  article  of  the  Augsburg  Confession;  with  a  wise  view  to  the  consolation  of  congregations 
afflicted  with  unworthy  pastors.     (1851.) 


Till-:    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  101 

G.  Do  not  think  me  so  foolish.  It  is  true  that  Prussia  has  peace- 
fully pulled  down,  where  France  did  it  with  violence  and  blood  ;  but, 
God  be  praised,  she  has  done  more  than  to  pull  down.  Parallel  with 
that  process,  there  went  one  of  building  up,  of  which  no  one  in  France 
even  thought ;  and  which  gloriously  distinguishes  the  Germans  from 
the  French. 

O.  To  what  do  you  refer  ? 

G.  To  education.  What  Frenchman  thought  of  that  in  the  time  of 
the  Revolution?  The  schools  were  dispersed,  the  best  clergymen 
were  banished,  and  the  youth  sank  into  barbarism.  But  woe  to  the 
revolution  whose  actors  forget  posterity !  What  is  the  disuse  of  old 
forms  and  the  introduction  of  new  ?  If  the  men,  and  especially  youth, 
are  not  renovated,  the  new  forms  are,  and  remain,  empty  delusions. 
Such  a  hopeless  revolution  was  never  laid  to  the  charge  of  Germany, 
and  could  only  happen  to  short-sighted  and  most  degraded  people. 
Remember  what  Luther,  whom  the  Germans  may  cite  to  the  shame  of 
the  French  revolutionists,  did  for  schools ;  how  he  made  them  even  a 
chief  object  of  attention.  In  like  manner,  the  Germans,  even  in  the 
most  perilous  period,  from  1806  to  1813,  in  that  time  of  trial,  when  a 
divine  revolution  in  their  minds  strengthened  them  for  a  new  birth, 
never  lost  sight  of  education.  The  abandoned  Freuch  revolutionists, 
drunk  with  victory,  went  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and  forgot  their  own 
times,  thinking  only  of  posterity.  I  read,  not  without  feeling,  a  little 
while  since,  Fichte's  remarks  on  this  subject,  in  his  Address  to  the 
German  Nation,  in  1808  :  "Every  one  sees  what  is  clearly  before  our 
eyes,  that  we  can  make  no  active  resistance.  How  can  we,  therefore, 
vindicate  our  title  to  continual  existence,  forfeited  by  this  fact,  against 
the  charge  of  cowardice  and  an  unworthy  love  of  life  ?  No  otherwise 
than  by  determining  not  to  live  for  ourselves;  and  to  prove  this  deter- 
mination by  planting  seeds  of  honor  for  our  posterity,  and  patiently 
enduring  until  this  object  shall  have  been  safely  accomplished."' 

0.  It  is  in  accordance  with  these  excellent  sentiments  that  the  gov- 
ernment, during  that  evil  time,  founded  two  universities. 

G.  It  did  more  than  that— not  of  so  obvious  a  kind,  however. 
O.  To  what  do  you  refer  ? 

G.  I  spoke  of  the  ancient  forms  which  they  discontinued.  They  were 
not  under  obligations  to  proceed  in  the  same  manner  in  respect  to  the 
many  antiquated  educational  forms  in  the  schools  and  universities. 
Only  raving  French  revolutionists  would  "throw  away  the  child  with 
the  bathing-tub,"— would  exterminate  the  schools  entirely.  The 
necessary  process  was  a  renewal,  slow  and  imperceptible — a  renewal 
which  could  not  be  forced,  but  such  as  comes  to  pass  of  itself,  when 


102  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

the  spirit  of  the  ago  causes  to  be  born  men  with  new  needs,  new  loves, 
and  new  talents. 

O.  Among  whom  you  doubtless  include  Pestalozzi  and  Jahn. 

G.  Undoubtedly.  The  government  has,  up  to  this  time,  so  ordered 
affairs  that  the  old  and  new  elements  have  not  come  into  opposition. 
The  classical  schools  and  universities  have,  on  the  whole,  adhered  to 
the  ancient  principles;  Pestalozzi  rules  in  the  teachers'  seminaries  and 
lower  schools,  and  the  Turning-grounds,  again,  stand  by  themselves,  in 
contrast  with  all.  The  new  elements  are  thus  enabled  to  develop 
themselves  symmetrically  and  appropriately ;  and  already  the  begin- 
ning may  be  seen  of  a  mutual  influence  and  strengthening  between 
the  old  and  the  newr. 

Old  principles  become  definite  in  an  existence  of  centuries,  modify 
crude  and  ill-adapted  novelties,  and  are  in  turn  reinvigorated  and  re- 
juvenated by  them.  Blessing  and  grace  may  be  hoped  for,  when  all 
are  bent  only  upon  the  good  of  the  young ;  when  none  believes  him- 
self alone  to  be  possessed  of  the  truth,  but  allows  others  to  correct  and 
warn  him,  and  lovingly  does  the  like  for  them;  when  all,  as  the  noble 
Fichte  said,  determine  ''not  to  live  for  themselves  alone,  and  to  prove 
their  determination  by  planting  the  seeds  of  honor  for  their  pos- 
terity,"— a  posterity,  I  may  add,  whose  growrth,  and  development  in 
the  divine  spirit  of  the  age,  the  German  fatherland  will  protect  against 
all  revolutions. 


The  contest  between  the  Burschenschaft  and  the  Turners  came  to 
such  a  height,  in  Breslau,  as  to  cause  an  entire  separation  into  friends 
and  opponents  of  the  latter.  The  account  of  the  Wartburg  festival 
gave  additional  vigor  to  this  contest.  But  it  reached  its  height  in 
March,  1819.  I  cannot  forget  the  fearful  impression  made  upon  me 
when  my  late  friend  Passow,  quite  out  of  his  senses,  came  to  me  with 
the  words,  "  What  do  you  think  !  A  student  has  murdered  Kotzebue  !" 
It  was  as  if  the  foresight  of  all  the  evil  consequences  of  this  wicked 
and  most  unfortunate  deed,  had  terrified  me,  all  at  the  moment. 

We  gradually  learned  all  the  particulars.  The  excitement  caused 
by  Sand's  crime,  not  only  among  members  of  the  university,  but 
among  all  classes,  was  excessive,  and  was  stimulated  bv  the  falsest 
reports.  It  was  said  that  a  great  and  wide-extended  conspiracy  had 
been  discovered,  to  which  Sand  belonged,  and  that  the  duty  of  murder- 
ing Kotzebue  had  fallen  to  him  by  lot;  that  a  list  of  the  names  of 
sixty-six  persons  had  been  found,  who  were  yet  to  be  stabbed  by  mem- 
bers of  this  association.     This  made  many  opponents  of  the  Burschen- 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  103 

scliaft  uneasy,  as  their  names  might  also  be  upon  the  list,  and  this 
naturally  made  their  enmity  more  bitter,  and  caused  their  attacks  to 
assume  a  character  of  self-defense  against  these  imaginary  dangers. 
Opponents  of  the  Burschenschaft  among  the  students  put  forth  a  state- 
ment, in  which  they  expressed  their  disapproval  of  Sand's  crime ; 
whether  this  was  put  into  the  hands  of  the  authorities,  I  do  not  know. 
We  who  were  friends  of  the  Burschenschaft  wrere  placed  in  a  very 
uncomfortable  position.  As  we — t.  e.,  Passow,  Harnich,  the  younger 
Schneider,  Schaub,  and  others — were  going  to  the  public  Turning- 
ground,  we  were  recognized,  and  it  would  be  remarked  that  we  be- 
longed to  the  conspiracy.  This  excitement  was  increased  by  a  set 
public  educational  address,  by  Adolf  Menzel,  against  the  Turning  sys- 
tem, and  by  the  report  that,  in  Berlin,  various  persons,  and  especially 
J  aim  himself,  had  been  imprisoned. 

But  enough  of  the  results  of  Sand's  act  at  Breslau.  Let  us  pro- 
ceed to  an  account  of  Sand  himself,  based  chiefly  upon  his  own  diary. 

a. — Sand. 

Karl  Ludwig  Sand*  was  born  at  Wunsiedel,  5th  October,  1795. 
He  was  the  youngest  son  of  Councilor  Justice  Sand.  A  dangerous 
attack  of  smallpox  and  a  severe  fever  impeded  his  studies,  and  he  could 
receive  no  instruction  until  his  eighth  year.  His  teacher,  Rector 
Saalfrank,  removed,  in  1810,  from  Wunsiedel  to  Hof;  and  thence,  in 
1812,  to  the  Gymnasium  at  Ratisbon,  to  both  of  which  places  Sand 
followed  him. 

From  his  teachers  at  Ratisbon  he  received  a  testimonial  of  mental 
endowments,  expressed  in  high  terms.  **  If  he  continues  in  the  same 
course,"  it  said,  "  he  will  one  day  exercise  a  happy  and  powerful  in- 
fluence for  the  good  of  his  fellow-men,  both  by  thorough  learning  and 
moral  excellence."  (!)  In  like  manner,  his  graduating  certificate  at 
Ratisbon,  of  September  10,  1814,  praises  his  mental  gifts  and  natural 
traits,  his  industry  and  progress  in  "  philosophical  and  philological  sub- 
jects ;"  and  it  was  only  in  mathematics  that  he  was  somewhat  deficient. 


*"Karl  Ludwig  Sand,  described  from  his  diaries  and  letters  from  bis  friends.  Altenberg, 
1821."    I  liave  also  made  use  of  the  following  works: 

■  Complete  Account  of  the  Proceedings  against  C.  L.  Sand  for  Assassination.  By  State  Coun- 
cilor Von  Holinhorst,  presiding  member  of  the  communion  appointed  for  that  purpose.  Tubin- 
gen, Cotta,  1S20." 

"C.  L.  Sand,  by  Jarcke.  Berlin,  Diimmler,  1S30."  A  new  edition,  enlarged  from  unpublished 
sources.  This  appeared  first  in  the  11th,  12th,  and  13th  parts  of  Hitzig's  "Annals  of  Criminal 
Law." 

"The  German  Youth  in  the  late  Burschenschafts  and  Turning  Associations.  Magdeburg, 
Heinrichshofen,  1828." 

I  have  received  much  oral  information  respecting  Sand  from  credible  persons. 


104  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

In  November,  1814,  he  was  matriculated  at  Tubingen  ;  and  in  April, 
1815,  lie  enlisted,  at  Mannheim,  as  a  volunteer  in  the  corps  of  Jagers 
of  the  Rezat;  which  step  he  announced  to  his  parents  in  a  letter  full 
of  fiery  patriotism.  The  account  of  the  battle  of  Belle  Alliance  ar- 
rived while  the  Jagers  were  still  in  Hamburg.  They,  however,  marched 
into  France  as  far  as  to  Auxerre,  and  on  the  2d  December,  1815,  re- 
turned to  Ansbach.  On  the  15th  of  the  same  month,  Sand  was  ma- 
triculated at  Erlangen. 

Before  going  further,  we  must  consider  the  influence  of  Sand's 
mother  upon  him,  which  was  a  most  powerful  one  throughout  his  life. 

In  a  letter  to  her,  May  26,  1818,  he  says  :  "Yes,  dear  mother,  all 
the  love  which  I  have  in  my  heart  for  religion,  for  truth,  for  my  coun- 
try, for  beneficent  actions,  was,  for  the  most  part,  excited  in  me  by 
you ;  and  however  I  consider  myself,  you  have  been  all  to  me,  in  al- 
most every  respect."  (p.  159.)* 

Thus  it  becomes  important  to  know  the  mother  who  had  such  an 
influence  upon  the  son.  Their  correspondence  affords  the  necessary 
materials,  and  I  give  the  following  extracts  from  her  letters  as  especially 
characteristic. 

While  he  was  a  student  at  the  Gymnasium,  and  only  sixteen,  she 
writes  him  : 

"  There  are  three  sorts  of  education  for  man.  The  first  is  that  which 
he  receives  from  his  parents ;  the  second,  that  which  is  derived  from 
circumstances;  and  the  third,  that  which  the  individual  gives  him- 
self."f 

These  extracts,  and  another,  hereafter  to  be  given,  leave  scarcely  a 
doubt  that  she  had  read  Rousseau's  "  EmileP 

"Man,"  she  writes,  in  another  letter,  "can,  of  himself,  be  very  much,  and 
almost  any  thing,  if  only  lie  will."  This  is  in  a  more  detailed  statement  of  the 
third  kind  of  education. 

"  May  the  Ruler  of  heaven  and  earth  let  his  spirit  rest  upon  you."   (p.  103.) 
"Though  it  be  a  part  of  Christian  duty,  and  necessary  for  living  happily,  to 
consider  men  as  having  been  good  when  they  came  from  the  Creator's  hand.J 
yet  every  man  is  his  own  nearest  neighbor  ;  and  if  one  daily  endeavors  to  be- 

*  This  and  subsequent  references  in  the  text  are  to  Sand's  diary. 

tSee  Emile,  Book  I.  "This  education  we  derive  from  nature,  or  from  men,  or  from  tilings. 
But  of  these  three  different  educations,  that  of  nature  does  not  depend  upon  us  at  all ;  that  of 
things  depends  only  upon  certain  relations;  and  that  of  men  is  the  only  one  of  which  we  are 
really  masters."  "Men"  were  mainly  represented  by  Kousseau,  who  sets  parents  aside,  by 
tutors;  but  the  mother  naturally  says,  instead,  "parents."  For  "things,"  she  writes,  perhaps 
after  a  German  translation,  "circumstances;"  and  for  the  education  of  nature  not  depending  on 
us,  she  says,  "the  education  which  the  individual  gives  himself;"  placing  the  will,  with  Fichte, 
in  authority  over  the  natural  endowments. 

%  "  All  is  good  when  it  comes  from  the  hands  of  the  Maker  of  all  things;  all  degenerates  in 
the  hands  of  man."  Thus  begins  Rousseau's  "  Emile."  For  "  base  human  goodness,"  Rousseau 
»ays  "  the  rabble." 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  105 

corae  better,  and  to  rank  with  the  best  and  selectest  men,  the  lofty  worth  that 
pertains  to  such  a  character  will,  of  itself,  save  him  from  the  low  snares  of  a 
base  human  goodness."  (p.  105.) 

Fran  Sand  had  enjoyed  the  religious  instruction  of  the  excellent 
pastor  Esper;*  and  many  beautiful  Christian  expressions  in  her  letters 
remind  us  of  him.  These  are,  however,  predominated  over  by  others, 
proceeding  from  want  of  self-knowledge  and  the  excess  of  proud  self- 
esteem  thence  arising.  Her  ideal,  and  that  of  her  son,  is  moral  devel- 
opment by  individual  power  and  effort — moral  pre-eminence.  Chris- 
tian holiness  is  but  seldom  alluded  to. 

As  a  means  toward  moral  perfection,  Sand  practiced  a  painful  and 
morbid  self-observation  and  self-education.  This  appears  in  his  diary, 
where  he  entered  moral  observations,  discussions,  and  conclusions.  The 
book  reminds  us,  in  part,  of  Franklin's  cliary,  in  its  moral  account- 
keeping  and  entries  of  debit  and  credit  of  one  and  another  virtue ;  it 
is  only  occasionally  that  a  spirit  or  sentiment  truly  Christian  appears.f 
And,  accordingly,  there  appears  throughout  Sand's  life,  a  struggle 
between  Christian  elements  and  those  unchristian,  or  pseudo-Christian. 
We  shall  see  how  doubtful  it  was,  during  his  studies  at  Eilangen,  which 
way  the  victory  would  incline ;  at  Jena  he  was  in  perplexity  about 
Christianity,  which  prevented  him  from  controversies  with  its  adver- 
saries ;  and  at  last  he  came  under  the  influence  of  a  man  who  had 
formed  for  himself  a  higher  pseudo-Christian  morality,  which  proudly 
overlooked  the  simple  morality  of  the  catechism.  He  thus  followed  a 
will-o'-the-wisp  instead  of  the  true  light  which  truly  enlightens  all 
men,  and  followed  it  until,  at  Mannheim,  it  led  him  into  the  path  to 
death. 

To  return  to  the  history  of  his  life.  He  was  matriculated,  as  we 
have  seen,  at  Eilangen,  December  15,  1815.  Here  he  soon  found 
friends,  with  whom  he  had  much  intercourse  upon  morality,  Chris- 
tianity, the  country,  and  academical  life. 

Fr\)m  his  diary  and  letters  we  become  acquainted  with  the  varying 
tendencies  of  his  moral  efforts,  and  with  his  dogmatic  views.  In  1813 
he  had  written  to  his  mother: 

"I  shall  now  recommence  my  diary,  and  thus  daily  seek  to  investigate  my- 
self. Oh,  how  happy  must  he  be,  who  gives  up  to  the  control  of  his  divine 
guide,  Reason,  all  his  inclinations,  desires,  impulses,  powers,  appetites,  and  dis- 
likes ;  and  who  has  so  far  attained  as  not  to  have  the  least  thought  of  that 

*  For  Esper,  see  Schubert's  "  Old  and  jV<nc,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  155-164. 

+  Sand's  diary  extends  to  the  last  of  December,  ISIS,  and  contains  entries  made  every  even- 
ing, of  "  what  he  had  done  well  or  ill."  One  of  Gellert's  hymns  may  have  suggested  both  this 
self-examination  and  the  diary.  It  is  entitled  "Evening  Examination,"  and  begins,  "The  day 
is  gone  again,  another  part  of  life;  how  have  I  employed  it?  is  it  gone  in  vain?"  In  some  re- 
spects it  may  have  been  imitated,  also,  from  Lavater's  well-known  cliary. 


106  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

(evil  ?)  by  means  of  which  he  may  confirm  the  authority  of  his  conscience." 
(p.  21.) 

"The  All-good  will  indicate  the  means  and  the  way  by  which  I  may,  per- 
haps, very  soon  maintain  a  glorious  strife,  as  a  young  moral  hero,  against  ex- 
ternal dangers."  (p.  20.) 

And  in  the  letter  already  quoted,  from  Tubingen,  April  22,  1815, 
announcing  to  his  parents  his  intention  of  serving  against  the  French, 
he  writes:  "With  the  help  of  God,  I  shall  pass  safely  through  the 
many  trials  to  which  I  am  exposed  in  this  new  situation,  pure,  and  at 
peace  with  myself." 

The  likeness  of  the  morality  of  the  son  with  that  of  his  mother, 
above  described,  is  only  too  clear;  and  it  is  also  clear,  that  in  the 
quotations  given,  no  reference  is  made  to  Christian  morality. 

During  his  life  at  Erlangen,  there  is,  indeed,  to  be  found  the  recog- 
nition of  the  divinity  of  Christianity  ;  but  very  seldom  any  obedience 
to  the  Christian  commandments,  if  they  stand  in  the  way  of  his  views 
or  his  actions.  Such  recoo-nition  is  to  be  found  in  the  following  eX- 
tracts.  After  having  read  the  inspired  praises  of  love  in  the  thirteenth 
chapter  of  1st  Corinthians,  Sand  writes  : 

"Ah  !  we  must  confess  that  we  feel  ourselves  impressed  and  inspired  with  a 
new  life  by  these  divine  lessons  ;  and  that  our  own  merely  human  minds  would 
never,  of  themselves,  have  arrived  at  these  teachings  of  revelation. "  (p.  39.) 

Upon  a  sermon  of  Church  Councillor  Vogel,  he  remarks:  "  Vogel  is  not 
ashamed  of  the  pure  Gospel  ;  he  believes  in  Christ,  who  alone  is  able  to  free 
us  from  our  great  guilt,  to  strengthen  us.  and  make  us  upright.  Ah,  gracious 
God  !  let  me,  in  like  manner,  penetrate  thy  word  and  thy  spirit  ;  grant  me  the 
unending  bliss  of  being  soon  able,  with  like  power,  to  preach  all  thy  sanctify- 
ing truth  ;  and  grant  me,  also,  what  he  prays  for,  thy  blessing  and  holiness.' ' 
(p.  8G.) 

May  80,  1817,  before  communion  :  "Awaken  me,  to-day,  0  gracious  God! 
to  just  self-inspection  ;  awaken  me  to  the  lofty  pleasure  of  being  permitted  to 
partake  of  thy  holy  supper.  In  order  to  close  my  account  with  thee  up  to  this 
time,  nothing  is  more  necessary  for  me  than  with  an  honest  heart  to  pray  for 
thy  grace,  and  that,  for  the  sake  of  the  death  of  thy  son  Jesus,  thou  wilt  for- 
give my  many  secret  and  open  sins,  and  put  me  at  peace  with  thee,  and  with 
my  fellow-tnen."  (p.  90.) 

September  15,  1817,  he  writes  :  "I  have  never  felt  and  believed  so  strongly 
that  it  is  Christ  alone  that  justifies,  and  that  man  possesses  a  safe  foundation 
for  goodness,  only  through  him,  and  through  humble  acknowledgment  of 
him."    (p.  110.) 

With  these  expressions  of  Christian  morality  are  mingled  others, 
showing  a  strange  confusion  of  Christian  and  unchristian  sentiments. 
Thus,  he  writes,  "Thy  paternal  love,  O  God!  0  Absolute!  is  prom- 
ised me  by  thy  son  Jesus;  and  I  will,  and  do  believe  in  it."   (p.  53.) 

On  the  28th  April,  1816,  Sand  partook  of  the  communion.  He 
writes  :  "  Eternal  power  sustains  all,  through  eternal  love ;  to  which 
svstem,  (?)  however,  we  could  only  be  raised  by  Christ  and  his  sacri- 
ficial death.  Oh,  what  a  happy  occasion,  when  man  lives  with  God  and 
thee,  Christ !     Could  I  not,  at  this  moment,  even  give  myself  to  death, 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  107 

for  noble  purposes  ?"  *'  In  the  evening"  (of  the  same  day),  '"  I  attended, 
at  the  Harmony  Theater,  the  representation  of  Kotzebue's  *  Silver  Age? 
a  very  beautiful  thing.  It  inspired  me  with  not  contemptible  thoughts." 
(p.  48.) 

July  23,  1817,  while  waiting  for  an  antagonist  with  whom  he  was 
about  to  fight  a  duel,  he  prays:  "  I  believe  wholly  in  thee  ;  and  im- 
plore thee,  for  the  sake  of  thy  son  Jesus,  to  be  gracious  unto  me,  and 
permit  me,  at  this  time,  to  be  at  peace  with  thy  holy  spirit,  and  to  re- 
ceive what  shall  happen  to  me  with  the  true  spirit  of  the  oue  strong 
and  powerful  love,  and  with  the  courage  and  face  of  truth." 

To  these  words  he  adds,  at  evening,  "  We  waited  two  hours,  but  the 
rascal  N.  did  not  come."  (p.  115.) 

He  offered  a  similar  prayer  before  a  duel  which  was  in  contempla- 
tion on  the  18th  of  August,  1817. 

"Shouldst  thou,  eternal  Judge,  summon  me  before  thy  throne,  I 
know  that  I  have  deserved  eternal  punishment;  but,  0  Lord!  I  build 
not  upon  my  own  merits,  but  those  of  Jesus,  and  hope  in  thy  paternal 
love,  because  he,  thy  Son,  has  suffered  for  me  also."  (p.  117.) 

And  on  the  same  day  when  he  wrote  this,  he  preached  his  first  ser- 
mon, in  the  Neustadt  church,  at  Erlangen. 

It  is  easy  to  observe,  in  these  extracts,  how  the  conscience  of  poor 
Sand  was  already  clouded,  and  how  he  was  beginning  to  be  surrounded 
with  the  perplexities  of  dangerous  fantasies. 

To  his  painstaking  endeavors  after  his  own  moral  perfection,  was 
added  a  second  undertaking,  viz. :  the  purification  of  the  body  of  stu- 
dents at  Erlangen  from  vice.  He  and  a  number  of  friends  established, 
for  this  purpose,  in  1817,  the  Erlangen  Burschenschaft,  and  they  im- 
posed upon  him  the  task  of  drawing  up  "  Ideas  for  the  organization  of 
the  future  Burschenschaft."  They  had  scarcely  organized,  before, 
as  at  other  universities,  they  made  vain  endeavors  to  connect  the 
Lanchmannschoften  with  themselves.  This  ill  success  led  to  bitter 
quarrels.* 

On  the  first  evening  of  the  year  1817,  Sand  prays  God  for  more 
power  of  self-observation.  "  Strengthen  the  decisions  of  my  reason, 
and  strengthen  my  will,  so  that  it  may  rule  my  flesh  and  bridle  my 
fancy ;  so  that  it  may  not  sink  below  the  sphere  of  holiness,  and  may 
drive  away  the  devil."  (p.  77.)  And  afterward  (September  4,  1817), 
he  writes  :  "  Strengthen  me,  0  God !  with  thy  Spirit,  that  I  may  begin 
right  powerfully  to  contend  against  the  assaults  of  the  devil,  against 


1 


*  The  references  to  these  quarrels  in  the  diary  are  too  scattered  to  make  it  possible  to  con- 
struct a  connected  account  from  them. 


> 


108  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

every  insidious  attack,  from  the  very  beginning,  in  thy  justifying  name, 
0  Jesus !" 

Before  the  Wartburg  festival,  Sand  composed  a  short  paper,  which 
he  distributed  there.  It  agreed,  substantially,  with  the  statutes  of  the 
General  and  Jena  Burscheuschaft.  Virtue,  learning,  fatherland,  is  its 
motto,  and  freedom  its  chief  object.  "  In  pious  simplicity  and  strength, 
with  upright  courage,  let  us  follow  in  the  traces  of  the  holy  revelation 
of  God."  Every  effort  is  to  be  consecrated  to  the  German  fatherland. 
A  General  Burscheuschaft,  but  without  any  oath  of  association.  Such 
were  some  of  its  leading  thoughts. 

The  chief  idea  of  the  Wartburg  festival  was,  "  We  are  all,  by  bap- 
tism, consecrated  to  the  priesthood.  (1  Peter,  ii.  9  :  *  Ye  are  a  royal 
priesthood,  a  holy  nation.')  That  is,  through  our  high  consecration, 
by  baptism,  gospel,  and  faith,  we  are  all  placed  in  the  ministerial  office; 
and  so  long  as  we  are  consecrated  to  our  divine  Master  as  valiant  and 
active  servants,  there  is  no  other  distinction  among  us  than  that  of 
our  offices  and  labors;  we  are  all  spiritually  free  and  equal."  (pp. 
126-132.) 

We  have  seen  that  Sand  was  on  the  committee  of  management  of 
the  Wartburg  festival.  From  that  place  he  went  to  the  university  of 
Jena. 

Here  his  inward  strifes  came  to  an  end.  The  theologian  would  call 
them  strifes  between  nature  and  grace;  for  man  cannot  serve  both — 
one  master  must  be  supreme. 

These  struggles,  though  ending,  ended  in  a  very  sad  manner.     The 

diary  shows  clearly  his  gradual  circumvention   and  conquest  by  evil. 

Gradually — for  at  first,  the  rude  and  reckless  unchristian  life,  which  he 

had  not  before  encountered,  seems  rather  to  have  strengthened  than 

weakened  his  faith.     At  first  he  is  only  surprised.     "Jena,"  he  writes, 

November  9th,  "has  its  wise  men."     He  found  friends  who  contended, 

with  much  zeal,  "  against  the  understanding  of  the  Bible  maintained 

by  the  orthodox  theologians."     November  16,  he  writes: 

"  I  heard  from  N.  a  stupid,  malicious  sermon.  ...  He  spoke  so  shame- 
fully against  the  awakened  faith  of  late  grown  up,  and  in  favor  of  a  cold  ration- 
alism, that  I  was  enraged."  (p.  135.) 

In  the  same  month  he  writes  intelligently  to  a  friend,*  "  You  seem  to  me 
...  to  have  departed  from  your  former  plain,  and  pious,  and  powerful 
faith,  and  to  have  taken  up,  instead  of  it,  the  sentimental  and  credulous 
opinions,  if  I  may  so  describe  them,  of  the  priests.  Do  you  not.  yourself,  find 
that  you  vary  more  and  more  from  the  firm  and  strong  beliefs  which  were  those 
of  our  Luther,  and  are  gliding  into  this  unchristian  pietist  way,  who  neglect  that 
dearest  of  all  earthly  objects,  our  country,  and  who  scoff  at  German  Christians, 
including  us  in  our  country  ?  I  pray  you,  do  not.  on  this  point,  believe  any 
longer  the  '  inner  voice'  that  you  profess  to  have,  if  it  is  to  withdraw  you  from 


*  Von  Plebwe,  a  captain  in  tjie  Prussian  service. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  109 

the  powerful  faith  which  makes  ns  free,  and  which  our  Luther  possessed.  Try 
this  voice,  whether  it  is  agreeable  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  for  the  devil  seeks 
to  rob  us  entirely  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  and  most,  when  we  are  suscepti- 
ble of  believing."   (pp.  186-188.) 

A  comparison  of  these  sentiments,  so  lucid,  and  so  modest,  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  term,  with  many  of  those  previously  quoted,  so  con- 
fused, and  visionary  in  the  worst  sense,  leaves  us  to  the  belief  that 
scarcely  any  young  man  can  be  cited  of  such  inconsistent  views. 

It  seems  as  if  poor  Sand,  in  the  last  words  just  quoted,  had  expressed 
a  presentiment  of  the  evil  that  threatened  him ;  although  it  came 
upon  him  from  a  direction  opposite  to  pietism.  He  writes  again,  on 
the  18th  of  November:  "The  devil  knows  how  he  would  despoil  me 
again  of  my  Christianity"  (p.  139.) 

On  the  31st  December,  Sand  prays : 

"  0  gracious  God  !  permit  me  to  begin  this  year  with  prayer.  At  the  end 
of  the  last  year  I  was  more  thoughtless  and  out  of  temper  than  before.  On 
looking  back,  I  find  myself,  to  my  sorrow,  not  to  have  become  better  or  more 
perfect,  but  have  only  lived  through  so  much  more  time,  and  had  so  much 
more  experience.  0  Lord  !  thou  wert  always  with  me,  even  while  I  was  not 
with  thee  !  It  almost  seems  as  if  thou  hadst,  during  the  storms  of  these  latter 
years  of  the  spring  of  my  life,  changed  all  my  previous  love  to  faith  ;  at  least, 
in  all  my  needs,  I  feel  Jesus  Christ  right  near  to  me,  and  build  upon  him  ;  and 
he  alone  is  to  me  always  a  sufficient  and  constant  encouragement,  a  place  of 
refuge  for  my  fears,  and  a  central  point  for  free  and  powerful  efforts.  Through 
him  I  feel  myself,  above  all  things,  made  right  free  ;  and  I  have  learned  to 
know  freedom  as  the  highest  good  of  humanity,  of  nations,  and  of  my  father- 
land ;  and  I  shall  hold  fast  to  it."     (p.  144.; 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1818,  he  prays,  again,  "  0  God !  let  me 
hold  fast  to  thy  salvation  of  the  human  race  through  Jesus  Christ ;  let 
me  be  a  German  Christian,  and  let  me,  through  Jesus,  become  free, 
peaceful,  confident,  and  also  persevering  and  strong."  (p.  147.) 

But,  at  the  same  time,  he  writes:  "It  is  all  over  with  devotees. 
What  is  needed  now  is  action." 

A  letter  of  the  end  of  March,  1818,  to  CI ,  indicates  a  still 

greater  departure  from  Christian  simplicity.     In  this  he  says : 

"  I  cannot  charge  myself  with  being  a  doubter.  It  would  be  to  me  the  most 
fearful  of  all  things,  to  be  feeble  or  indeterminate. 

"And  yet  there  is  one  thing  which  distresses  me;  which  has,  for  a  long 
time,  had  power  to  cool  my  warmth,  and  with  which  you  must  be  made  ac- 
quainted ;  in  regard  to  which  I  may,  perhaps,  receive  from  you  an  impulse 
toward  a  more  fixed  belief. 

"  During  last  summer  I  attained  a  real  fixity  in  my  convictions  npon  the 
subjects  of  highest  importance  to  us.  My  faith  became  more  firmly  grounded  ; 
I  desired,  even  if  I  could  do  nothing  more,  at  least  to  be  a  real  Christian  and 
a  real  German.  Trusting  confidently,  in  all  things,  to  the  grace  of  Our  Father, 
I  was  free  in  my  belief,  always  courageous,  and  could  go  with  firm  steps  in  the 
road  which  my  will  and  my  reason  had  chosen.  Love  excited  me  to  action, 
prevented  me  from  becoming  stupefied,  and  rendered  me  decided,  firm,  and 
peaceful  in  all  matters  that  concerned  me.  Thus  I  experienced,  in  reality, 
the  blessedness  of  faith,  expressed  it  in  my  sermons,  and  could,  with  truthful- 
ness, encourage  others  to  faith. 

"  Since  my  coming  hither,  into  a  world  wider,  and  quite  different  in  all  its 


110  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

peculiarities  and  chief  traits ;  since  I  have  seen,  in  many  whom  I  love,  too 
much  of  the  northern  modesty,  and  have  heard  the  sphere  of  my  own  beliefs 
described  as  visionary  by  others,  who  yet  discourse  upon  faith  ;  and  since,  be- 
sides other  books,  I  have,  chiefly  by  your  means,  become  acquainted  with 
Herder's  views,  it  has  gradually  come  to  be  with  me  otherwise  than  before. 
At  first,  my  attention  was  excited  only  ;  after,  what  I  heard  was  repugnant  to 
me  ;  sometimes  I  was  confused  within  myself,  and  on  the  whole,  I  am  at  least 
colder  and  less  courageous  than  heretofore. 

'•In  truth,  so  much  is  my  firm  determination;  that  reason  shall  be  my 
Supreme  rule;  I  would  possess  not  a  visionary,  but  a  pure  and  sound  faith  ; 
and  even  if  I  hold  to  my  former  beliefs,  I  must  be  able  to  make  them  out  as 
clearly  sure  and  sound.  I  have  always  reverenced  in  Jesus  the  highest  and 
most  beautiful  picture  of  our  manhood  ;  but  to  consider  him  a  mere  ordinary 
man,  seems  to  me,  now,  too  desolate  and  harsh. 

"  I  will  not  willingly  renounce  reason  and  understanding  ;  but  it  makes  me 
cheerful  and  happy,  and  certainly  does  not  impede  me  inaction,  to  reverence  in 
the  great  Teacher  of  the  eternal  God,  a  constant  helper,  a  divine  brother,  who 
kindly  makes  up  for  the  deficiencies  of  the  world  and  humanity,  who  raises  us 
above  a  system  of  legality.  Did  he  now  die  for  himself  alone,  a  hero  for  the 
sake  only  of  his  own  opinion  ?  Did  he  merely  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  his 
instruction,  without  intending  to  purchase  a  great  benefit  for  men  F"   (p.  148.) 

In  a  second  letter  to  the  same  friend,  he  says  :  "  But  you  know  that,  by  little 
and  little,  my  whole  system  of  beliefs  grew  continually  darker,  and  that  I  was 
almost  entirely  fallen  into  a  blind  dependence  upon  ancient  formulas  of  belief, 
giving  up  my  own  independent  faith  ;  and  you  know  how  I  have  come  into 
this  condition  mainly  by  your  means."  (p.  154.) 

But  on  the  5th  of  May,  the  unhappy  fruit  of  the  refinements  which 
drew  him  further  and  further  from  a  pure  Christianity,  comes  clearly 
out  in  these  words  of  his  diary  :  "  Lord,  to-day  again  this  so  miserable 
unhappiness  has  sometimes  attacked  me ;  but  a  steady  will  and  steady 
occupation  solves  all,  and  helps  through  all,  and  the  fatherland  be- 
comes a  source  of  pleasure  and  virtue.  Our  God-man  Christ,  our  Lord, 
is  a  picture  of  humanity  that  must  always  remain  beautiful  and  peace- 
ful. When  I  reflect,  I  often  think  that  some  one,  courageous  beyond 
himself,  will  undertake  to  drive  a  sword  into  the  vitals  of  Kotzebue,  or 
some  other  such  traitor  to  the  country."  (p.  150.) 

In  the  same  month  of  May,  1818,  Sand  became  acquainted  with  one 

K r,  a  pupil  of  Hegel,  who  made  a  deep  impression  on  him  by  his 

cunning  frenzy,  and  carried  him  quite  beyond  control.     To  understand 

this  K r,  and  his  influence  on  Sand,  it  will  be  abundantly  sufficient 

to  quote  what  the  latter  writes  in  his  diary,  October  20,  1818  : 

"  K r  came  in  in  the  evening,  and  was  healthy,  noble,  and  free,  clear 

and  firm,  immovable,  and  consistent  in  his  views.  He  told  me  how  he  had 
formerly  had  such  misgivings,  but  how  be  was  now  completely  free  from  them, 
and  how  he  was  consistent  and  clear  on  the  question  of  religion.  Heaven  must 
be  boldly  taken  by  storm  ;  all  stain  of  sin,  all  distinction  of  good  and  evil, 
must  completely  disappear  from  before  the  soul,  as  an  empty  and  false  show  ; 
and  then  will  the  soul  vanquish  men,  earth,  and  the  mansions  of  heaven  ! 
Only  in  unity  is  there  blessedness,  to  him,  in  equal  and  everlasting  rest.  But 
he  respects  every  brother  as  near  himself,  and  recognizes  him.  as  a  complement 
of  himself.  Yet  he  is  free  above  freedom,  and  has  another  home  besides  the 
fatherland.  He  knows  how  to  seek  it,  and  is  firmly  determined  to  do  so.  I 
seem  to  him  pious,  as  well  as  near  to  him,  and  recognized  as  such  :  I  was  pious 
in  the  sight  of  God,  and  would  remain  so  ;  and  I  desire  to  be  holy  only  in 
comparison  with  the  world  ;  not  in  my  own  eyes.     If  he  can  seem  holy  in  his 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  Ill 

own  eyes,  let  him  do  so— I  must  remain  behind.  But  he  vowed  freely  that  he 
would  undertake  to  maintain  such  a  character  continually,  or  that  he  would 
disappear,  a  wretched  mass  of  dross.  Thus  he  acts  not  for  himself,  but  fur  all 
of  us,  since  we  are  all  one  spirit, — a  pure  spirit.  And  all  this  he  said  so  clearly, 
so  loftily,  with  a  peacefulness  so  powerful  as  I  never  saw.  I  lost  all  feeling  of 
strangeness,  and  was  drawn  to  him  as  a  brother  in  freedom.  God  help  !"  (pp. 
168,  169.) 

The  contrast  between  Sand  and  K r  comes  out  more  strongly 

in  the  following  important  extract  from  his  diary  : 

"  November  2.  Victory,  unending  victory  !  To  will  to  live  according  to  my 
own  convictions,  in  my  own  way,  with  an  unrestricted  will,  beyond  which 
nothing  in  the  world  pertains  to  me  before  God  ;  to  maintain,  with  life  and 
death,  among  the  people  a  state  of  pure  uprightness  (that  is,  the  only  condition 
consistent  with  God's  commands),  against  all  human  sentiments  ;  to  desire  to 
introduce,  by  preaching  and  dying,  a  pure  humanity  among  my  German  nation. 
This  seems  to  me  altogether  another  thing  from  living  in  renunciation  of  the 
people.  I  thank  thee,  0  God  !  for  thy  grace.  What  infinite  power  and  blessing 
do  1  discover  in  my  own  will  ;  I  doubt  no  more  !  This  is  the  condition  of  true 
likeness  to  God."   (.p.  170.) 

A  letter  to  his  mother  contains  expressions  quite  similar.  In  this 
he  says  : 

"  K r,  as  you  correctly  judge,  seems  to  me  an  acute  and  powerful  mind  ; 

for  he  has  deep  and  firm  convictions,  and  an  individualized  and  powerful  will  ; 
and  thus  has  the  impress  upon  him  which  we  derive  from  God.  But  his  con- 
viction is  a  distinct  disgust  at  every  thing  that  exists  ;  at  all  being,  life,  and 
effort ;  he  endeavors  boldly  to  destroy  the  form  of  every  thing,  and  even  him- 
self, as  he  now  exists  ;  he  has  no  pleasure  in  his  existence,  in  the  world,  or  in 
his  nation.  Humanity,  which  should  be  to  him  a  pure  and  holy  picture,  such 
as  we  know  it  to  be  displayed  in  Jesus,  our  Saviour,  counts  with  him  for  noth- 
ing ;  is  to  him  nothing  but  a  delay  in  individuality — in  evil. 

"And  therefoi-e,  dear  mother,  I  must  say  to  you,  that  among  our  people  I 

know  bolder  and  nobler  heroes :  and  that  in  the  path  in  which  K r  thrusts  me 

backward,  and  kills  me,  I  feel  myself  drawn  toward  them  with  inexpressible 
power.  Like  him,  they  recognize  no  human  attainment  more  holy  than  the 
good  of  the  highest  divine  grace,  likeness  to  God  :  the  possession,  by  man,  of 
an  individual  conviction  and  will  for  himself.     In  this  belief  they  are  wholly 

without  doubt,  and  as  strong  in  their  wills  as  K r  ;  but  their  convictions 

look  toward  active  life  and  pleasure  in  striving  ;  and  if  they  could  have  their 
own  way,  they  would  insist  on  introducing  among  our  German  people  that 
pure  condition  of  humanity  in  which  every  one  can  train  himself  to  every 
tiling  for  which  God  has  ordained  him  ;  they  would  glorify  humanity  in  our 
nation!  And  since  they  have  attained  to  this  condition,  not  one  doubt  has 
assaulted  their  souls  ;  they  have  not  even  trembled. 

"  Of  this  mental  pleasure,  and  this  victory,  I  experience  some  indications  ; 
and  therefore  I  quite  give  up  K r.  My  inherited  feelings  had  already  disin- 
clined me  to  his  views  ;  but  now  I  possess  a  faith,  the  loftiest  belief  upon  this 
earth  ;  and  this  alone  I  will  enjoy."  (pp.  171,  172.) 

Who  were  these  bolder  heroes  to  whom  Sand  felt  himself  attracted 
with  such  inexpressible  power,  and  from  whom  he  expected  such 
transcendent  benefits  to  his  fatherland  ? 

Late  researches,  and  especially  a  work  entitled  "  The  German  Youth 
in  the  Late  Burschenscliafts  and  Turning  Societies"  indicate,  with  the 
utmost  clearness,  that  Sand  alluded  to  Karl  Follenius  and  his  followers. 

The  author  of  the  above-named  work  (Robert  Wesselhoft),  thus 
describes  his  first  visit  to  Follenius  : 


112  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

"  He  received  us  like  old  acquaintances.  We  called  each  other  thou  ;  he  was 
hearty  and  easy,  open  and  confiding,  without  requiring  that  any  one  should  at 
once  unconditionally  reciprocate  all  this.  But  there  was  in  his  demeanor,  his 
attitude,  the  tone  of  his  voice,  his  emotions,  and  looks,  in  short,  in  the  whole 
man,  something  nohle  ;  peace,  power,  clearness,  a  seriousness  almost  proud  ; 
an  individuality,  which  Insensibly  secured  a  remarkable  degree  of  respect  from 
all  near  him.  And  in  his  morals  he  was  as  strict,  as  pure,  and  as  chaste  as  in 
his  language  ;  and  we  have  found  no  one  like  him,  or  certainly  no  one  equal 
to  him,  in  purity  and  vigor  of  morals  and  manners."0 

Follenius  lectured  on  the  Pandects.  His  ''philosophy  was, through- 
out, practical.  He  required  all  that  is  recognized  by  the  human  reason 
as  good,  beautiful,  and  true,  to  be  accomplished  by  means  of  the  moral 
will.  .  .  .  The  State  must  be  organized  correspondently  with  the 
reason  of  the  members  of  it."f 

In  this  manner,  proceeds  our  author,  Folleuius  developed  a  degree 
of  self-consciousness  that  was  astonishing  : 

"  He  was  hold  enough  to  assert  that  his  own  life  was  such  as  reason  required. 
With  an  indescribable  expression  of  contempt  in  his  features,  he  accused  those 
of  cowardice  and  weakness  who  imagine  that  the  knowledge  of  truth  and 
beauty,  and  especially  of  their  highest  ideals,  could  be  disjoined  from  living 
them  out,  practicing  them,  realizing  them  in  their  widest  extent.  For  he  as- 
serted that  man's  knowledge  of  good  and  right  never  exceeds  his  power  and 
his  will  ;  and  that  the  latter  are  limited  only  by  the  former. 

"  It  will  be  readily  understood  that  these  proud  sentiments  gave  the  more 
offense  in  proportion  as  Follenius'  own  life  furnished  fewer  opportunities  for 
disputing  his  positions.  All  that  could  be  alleged  against  him  amounted  to 
the  charge,  that  he  was  deficient  in  a  certain  humility  and  modesty.  But  this 
accusation  could  not  provoke,  from  one  who  saw  his  superiority  recognized, 
any  thing  more  than  a  compassionate  laugh,  which  said,  clearly  enough, 
1  Ye  weaklings !  Your  envious  vanity  and  vile  weaknesses  are  remarkably 
shrewd !'  "J 

Follenius  required  unconditional  acquiescence  in,  or  difference  from 

his  views. 

"  While  in  Giessen,  he  had  driven  his  opponents  to  this  position,  and  main- 
tained his  own  ascendency,  because  he  had  control  ot  the  existence  of  the  Giessen 
Friends  known  by  the  title  of  Black.     But  at  Jena  he  had  not  this  control. "§ 

"As  soon  as  Follenius  defined  this  unconditional)  ty  in  its  whole  extent,  all 
seemed  to  bow  before  the  boldness  of  his  conceptions.  The  conviction  that 
showed  itself  so  profoundly  and  strongly,  commanded  respect,  but  it  was  felt 
that  it  was  respected  only  as  it  existed  in  Follenius,  and  could  not  be  separated 
from  him.  But  his  hearers  did  not  yet  understand  themselves  thoroughly  enough 
to  be  able  at  once  to  be  clear  in  this  feeling.  But  they  were  sensible  of  s<>me 
opposition  of  thoughts  within  themselves  which  prevented  them  from  resisting, 
with  Follenius.  all  history,  and  all  things,  both  past  and  future,  and  from  as- 
serting, with  him,  that  whatever  had  happened  had  been  brought  about  by 
men,  and  that  it  might  just  as  well  have  been  otherwise,  had  men  followed  a 
better  knowledge,  and  been  willing  to  put  the  reason  in  possession  of  all  its 
rights.  But  Follenius  claimed  that  he  possessed  this  better  knowledge.  Politi- 
cally, he  was  purely  republican  ;  for  he  would  construct  the  State  as  it  should 
be,  from  the  individual  man  as  he  should  be  ;  and  he  thought  himself  compe- 
tent to  represent  the  latter,  and,  therefore,  authorized  to  require  as  much  from 
others.  And  this  he  required  unconditionally  ;  concluding  that  any  one  who 
would  accept  this  unconditionally,  would  also  accept  unconditionally  the  re- 
publican frame  of  government.     Any  one  accepting  his  system  became  '  uncon- 

*  "  German  Youth;'  &c,  p.  G5.  t  lb.,  p.  71.  %  lb.,  p.  72.  §  lb.,  p.  73. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  113 

di tinned.'  As  his  whole  system  had  a  practical  purpose,  and  looked  to  the 
realization  of  its  principles,  thus  the  receiving  of  his  views — i.  e.,  '  uncondition- 
ality' — was  really  a  very  serious  matter  ;  and  it  can  readily  and  clearly  he 
apprehended  that  the  unconditional  recipients  of  Follenius'  opinions  were  as 
earnest  in  them  as  he,  from  the  moment  of  their  accepting  them. 

"Fortunately  for  the  world,  of  about  thirty  Friends  who  formed  the  narrow 
circle  around  Dr.  Follenius,  only  three  were  entirely  '  unconditional,'  and  there 
were  about  five  more  in  a  doubtful  state.  One  of  these  three  was  Sand.  All 
the  rest  were  in  favor  of  moderate  views  ;  many  were  only  seeking  instruction 
and  interchange  of  ideas  in  their  circle,  and  were  neutral  ;  and  a  few  desired 
Follenius'  conversion.  It  was  supposed  that  Court  Councilor  Fries  would 
best  accomplish  this  work  of  information  and  conversion,  and  shortly  the 
whole  society  met  once  a  week  with  him,  and  disputed  vigorously.  But  as 
both  Fries  and  Follenius  had  a  fixed  and  completed  system,  this  led  to  no  re- 
sult.    Neither  convinced  the  other."" 

But  among  the  students  there  was  no  thought  of  an  agreement,  and 
in  March,  1819,  the  whole  society  was  broken  up  into  a  completely 
inimical  separation,  only  three  adhering  to  Follenius,  among  whom,  as 
we  have  said,  was  Sand.  Our  author  goes  into  some  detail  as  to  the 
reasons  why  Follenius  was  not  acceptable  to  the  other  students.  He 
says:  "All  authoritative  proceedings  were  much  hated  at  Jena;  the 
students  only  loved  their  teachers  and  valued  their  intellects.  Folle- 
nius, with  his  moral-political  ideas,  could  not  succeed  in  Jena.  People 
had  learned  and  received  too  much  from  previous  teachers  to  give  it 
up  for  what  Follenius  offered.  They  criticised  him,  and  advised  others 
to  do  so — why  should  Follenius  not  be  criticised?  The  harshness 
with  which  he  would  have  propagated  his  beliefs  and  opinions,  and 
with  which  he  asserted  that  only  cowardice  and  weakness  refrained 
from  adhering  to  them,  and  carrying  them  into  practice,  drove  his 
friends  into  such  an  opposition  as  made  it  out  of  the  question  for  his 
instructions  to  have  any  influence  on  the  students.  Even  those  who 
could  not  refuse  their  respect  to  Follenius,  opposed  him  strenuously  at 
the  same  time ;  asserting  that  no  one,  unless  he  were  Christ,  was  en- 
titled to  claim  that  he  was  possessed  of  the  truth.  Only  Christ  held 
that  position  ;  and  in  him  intellectual  freedom  is  to  be  enjoyed.  In  a 
moral  and  religious  sense,  there  is  a  Saviour ;  but  nobody  is  going  to 
believe  in  a  moral-political  Mossiah."f 

This  reference  to  Christ  relates  to  a  hymn  which  Follenius  wrote  for 
the  communion.     It  began  : 


The  last  sti 


A  Christ  thou  must  become."  J 


"  The  man  is  flown  away  ; 
A  Christ  canst  thou  become. 
Like  thee,  a  child  on  earth 
Was  he,  the  Son  of  man. 


*  "  German  Youth;'  &c,  pp.  74-76.  t  lb.,  p.  83.  %  lb.,  p.  84, 

No.  17.— [Vol.  VI.,  No.  2.]— 8  8 


114  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

Within  thy  heing  nothing  is  destroyed. 

God  guideth  thee  as  thou  dost  guide  thyself. 

Through  thee,  by  love,  God  doth  become 

A  man,  that  he  may  still  be  end  and  aim  into  us."0 

Another  poem  of  Follenius',  a  turbulent  summons  to  insurrection, 

Sand  had  printed  and  distributed  as  widely  as  possible.     It  begins  : 

11  Human  crowd,  0  thou  great  human  desert ! 
Who  of  late  the  mental  spring-time  greetedst, 
Break  at  last — crash  up,  O  ancient  ice  !"f 

As  an  additional  description  of  Follenius,  I  add  the  following : 

"When  we  asked  him  if  he  believed  that  his  system  could  be  put  into  prac- 
tice without  blood,  he  answered,  calmly,  '  No.  In  the  worst  event,  all  must 
be  sacrificed  who  entertain  different  opinions.'  And  when  we  replied  that  our 
feelings  revolted  at  such  a  terrorism,  and  that,  as  Christians  and  men,  we 
thought  it  wrong  to  murder  men,  otherwise,  perhaps,  good  and  upright,  because 
they  ventured  to  think  and  believe  differently  from  us  ;  and  even  that  we  did 
not  claim  the  right  of  condemning  the  moral  convictions  of  others,  he  answered 
that  '  the  feelings  have  nothing  to  do  with  this  case,  but  necessity.  And  if  you 
have  the  conviction  in  you  that  your  beliefs  are  true,  the  feeling  of  the  neces- 
sity of  acting  out  this  truth  cannot  be  strange  to  you,  unless  by  reason  of 
cowardice.  The  means  are  not  to  be  considered  when  the  case  is  one  of  moral 
necessity. ' 

"  When  we  observed,  that  this  was  the  Jesuitical  principle,  that  the  end 
sanctifies  the  means,  he  calmly  replied,  that  '  a  moral  necessity  is  not  an  end 
at  all  ;  and  in  reference  to  that,  all  means  are  alike.' 

"  Fortunately,  we  could  find  no  such  moral  necessity  within  us  ;  and  had  to 
admit  that  we  did  not  believe  it  existed,  except  in  him. 

11  '  Good  ;'  he  answered  '  that  is  enough,  however.'  " 

We  shall,  hereafter,  refer  once  more  to  Follenius ;  and,  therefore, 
shall  only  describe  him  so  far  as  is  necessary  to  show  how  predomi- 
nant an  influence  he  exercised  upon  Sand.  Although  this  is  plain, 
from  many  of  Sand's  expressions,  already  quoted,  it  appears  still  more 
clearly  in  portions  of  the  latter  part  of  his  diary.  He  writes,  on  5th 
December,  1818  : 

"  I  will  have  but  one  grace — the  everlasting  grace  of  God— which,  therefore, 
can  never  turn  back  from  me,  but  is  inwoven  with  the  rudiments  of  my 
being.  I  renounce  the  feeble  belief  in  the  occasional  interposition  of  God's 
hand  behind  the  scenes  of  the  play  of  nature  and  humanity,  and  proportion- 
ably  more  shall  I,  on  the  other  hand,  elevate  my  own  spirit,  and  praise  thy 
primeval  grace,  0  God  !  by  my  whole  active  existence  and  life.  And  these  im- 
mediate relations  with  thee,  0  God  !  my  soul  shall  never  mistake,  nor  destroy, 
nor  forget.  Here,  thy  grace  shall  endure  forever,  with  every  day — here,  in  thy 
love.  I  will  rightly  understand  my  will,  the  loftiest  gift  of  God,  the  only  real 
possession  ;  and  witli  it  will  possess  all  the  infinity  of  material  which  thou  hast 
placed  about  me  for  trial  and  for  self-creation.  I  reject  all  grace  which  I  do 
not  acquire  from  myself ;  such  undesired  grace  is  none  at  all  for  me  ;  it  destroys 
itself.  Not  to  live  distinctly  up  to  one's  convictions,  to  vary  from  them  for 
fear  and  human  opinions,  not  to  be  willing  to  die  for  them,  is  brutal — is  the 
vileness  of  millions  for  thousands  of  years.  Flee,  with  circumspection,  the 
snares  of  Satan."  (p.  173.) 

On  the  31st  of  December,  he  writes  :  "  Thus  I  celebrate  the  last  day  of  this 
year,  1818,  seriously  and  joyfully,  and  am  sure  that  the  last  Christmas  is  past 
which  I  shall  have  kept,     if  any  thing  is  to  come  of  our  efforts  ;  if  humanity 

*  Hohnhorat,  vol.  i.  p.  50.  fib.,  vol.  ii.  p.  193. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  115 

is  to  prosper  in  our  fatherland  ;  if,  at  this  important  time,  all  is  not  to  be  for- 
gotten again,  and  enthusiasm  to  perish  out  of  the  land,  that  wretch,  that 
traitor,  that  corrupter  of  youth,  A.  v.  K.,  must  go  down — that  I  see.  Until  I 
have  accomplished  this  I  shall  have  no  rest  ;  and  what  shall  console  me  until 
I  know  that,  with  honorable  boldness,  I  have  set  my  life  upon  the  deed  ?  God, 
I  ask  nothing  of  thee,  except  upright  purity  and  courage  of  soul,  lest,  in  that 
most  lofty  hour,  I  may  lose  my  life."  (p.  174.) 

Sand  carried  about  with  him  this  firm  resolve  upon  murder  for 
months.  Nevertheless,  his  friends  report  that  there  was  observable  in 
him  no  change,  no  disquiet,  no  uneasy  abstraction.  He  even  attended 
lectures  most  regularly,  as  if  preparing  himself  for  many  future  years  of 
life. 

But  in  this  unhappy  and  fearful  silence  the  scheme  of  murder  was 
becoming  riper  and  more  fixed. 

*  On  the  9th  of  March,  1819,  he  left  Jena  and  went  to  the  Wart- 
burg,  where  he  wrote  in  the  book  at  the  inn : 

"  Into  the  true  heart  strike  the  lance, 
A  road  for  German  freedom  !" 

On  the  17th  he  reached  Frankfort,  and  thence  proceeded,  by  Darm- 
stadt, to  Mannheim,  where  he  arrived  at  half-past  nine  a.  m. 

His  first  step  was  to  call  on  Kotzebue,  who  was  not  at  home ;  but 
he  was  admitted  to  see  him  about  five  in  the  afternoon.  After  some 
little  conversation,  Sand  drew  his  dair^er  and  struck  down  the 
"whimpering"  Kotzebue,  with  the  words,  "Here,  thou  traitor  to  the 
fatherland!"  He  stabbed  him  three  times,  though  the  first  blow  was 
fatal,  having  severed  the  main  artery  of  the  lungs.  Kotzebue  died  in 
a  few  minutes.  Sand  then  rushed  out  of  the  house  and  cried,  with  a 
loud  voice,  to  the  gathering  crowd,  "Long  live  my  German  fatherland, 
and  all  of  the  German  people — all  who  strive  to  better  the  condition 
of  pure  humanity !"  Then,  kneeling  down,  he  prayed,  "  God,  I  thank 
thee  for  this  victory ;"  thrust  a  short  sword  into  his  left  breast  until  it 
stuck  fast,  and  fell  down. 

He  was  brought  into  the  hospital  at  six  p.  m.  He  lay  there, 
"  stretched  out  on  his  back,  his  face  deadly  pale,  his  lips  blue,  his 
hands  and  feet  cold  and  stiff,  scarcely  breathing,  his  pulse  hardly  per- 
ceptible." He  was  revived  by  warm  wine,  so  that  at  half-past  seven 
the  question  could  be  put  to  him,  whether  he  had  murdered  Kotzebue. 
He  raised  his  head,  opened  his  eyes,  and  nodded  quickly  and  strongly. 
He  then  asked  for  paper,  and  wrote,  in  pencil,  "  A.  v.  Kotzebue  is  the 
corrupter  of  our  youth,  the  defamer  of  our  national  history,  and  the 
Faissian  spy  upon  our  fatherland." 

During  the  night  he  caused  the  account  of  the  battle  of  Scmpach  to 
be  read  to  him,  from  Kohlrausch's  History  of  Germany. 

»  The  following  account  ia  from  Hohnborst,  vol.  i.  pp.  43-82. 


116  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

His  wounds  healed  after  fourteen  days,  but  an  extravasation  in  the 
cavity  of  the  left  chest  made  a  painful  operation  necessary.  This  left 
a  wound  which  remained  open  some  months,  and  the  dressing  twice  a 
day,  and  the  constant  position  on  his  back,  caused  him,  often,  the 
severest  pain.  On  the  5th  of  April  he  was  removed  from  the  hospital 
to  prison. 

"His  demeanor,  during  his  whole  imprisonment,  was  praiseworthy; 
without  making  demands,  he  thankfully  received  whatever  was  done 
for  alleviating  his  sufferings  ;  and  toward  the  members  of  the  com- 
mission of  investigation  he  was  mostly  obedient  and  modest.  But  this 
did  not  prevent  him  from  purposely  endeavoring  to  delay  the  investi- 
gation by  numerous  untruths."* 

The  result  of  a  long  investigation  was,  that  the  high  court  of  justice 
in  Mannheim  decreed,  on  the  5th  May,  1820,  that  Sand,  "  having  been 
guilty  of  the  murder  of  Imperial  Russian  State  Councilor  Von  Kotze- 
bue,  and  having  confessed  the  same,  should,  therefore,  for  his  own  pun- 
ishment, and  for  the  example  and  warning  of  others,  be  put  to  death 
with  the  sword." 

This  decision  was  approved  by  the  Grand  Duke  on  the  12th  of  May. 

On  the  lVth  of  May,  at  half-past  ten  a.  if.,  in  the  presence  of  two 
witnesses,  the  sentence  of  death,  confirmed  by  the  supreme  authority, 
was  read  to  Sand,  who,  by  permission,  dictated  the  following  paper  : 

"This  hour,  and  the  honorahle  judge,  with  the  final  sentence,  ave  welcome 
to  him  ;  he  will  strengthen  himself  in  the  strength  of  his  God  ;  since  he  has 
often  and  clearly  proclaimed,  that  of  human  miseries,  none  seem  to  him  equal 
to  that  of  living  without  being  able  to  live  for  the  fatherland,  and  for  the 
highest  purposes  of  humanity  ;  that  he  dies  willingly,  where  he  cannot  labor, 
according  to  his  love,  for  his  ideas  ;  where  he  cannot  be  free. 

"Thus  he  approaches  the  gate  of  eternity  with  free  courage  ;  and  since  he 
has  ever  been  inwardly  oppressed  by  the  fact,  that,  on  earth,  true  good  only 
comes  out  in  the  strife  of  opposed  miseries  ;  that  any  one  who  desires  to  work 
for  the  highest,  the  divine,  must  be  leader  and  member  of  a  party.  .  .  .f 
He  cherishes  the  hope  of  satisfying,  by  his  death,  those  who  hate  him  ;  and, 
likewise,  those  with  whom  he  sympathizes,  and  whose  love  is  one  with  his 
earthly  happiness.  Death  is  welcome  to  him,  for  he  feels  himself  to  possess  the 
requisite  strength,  with  the  help  of  God,  as  a  man  should." 

The  20th  of  May  was  the  day  of  execution ;  and  until  that  time  the 
officers  of  the  prison  were  ordered  to  admit  proper  persons  into  it,  on 
the  requisition  of  the  prisoner,  especially  Protestant  clergymen,  and  to 
comply  with  all  his  reasonable  wishes. 

During  the  period  up  to  the  execution,  the  commissary  in  charge  of 
the  arrangements  visited  the  criminal  at  various  times,  and  observed, 
in  a  report  of  May  19th,  that  at  all  these  visits  Sand  maintained  the 

*  This  testimony  is  from  the  chief  of  the  investigating  commission, 
t  Something,  says  Hohnhorst,  seems  wanting  here. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  117 

same  steadiness  of  demeanor  as  at  the  time  of  hearing-  his  sentence. 
On  the  same  day,  Sand  requested  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  go  to 
the  place  of  execution  without  any  clergyman,  alleging,  as  a  reason, 
that  such  attendance  was  a  dishonor  to  the  clergyman  and  to  religion. 
The  last  must  exist  in  the  heart;  and  cannot  come  in  from  without, 
certainly  not  during  the  excitement  of  such  an  occasion.  As  all  ex- 
hortations, even  of  the  clergymen  in  attendance,  had  been  fruitless, 
there  was  no  hesitation  in  granting  this  request. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  at  five  in  the  morning,  Sand  was  placed  in  a 
low,  open  carriage,  within  the  closed  doors  of  the  prison,  having  with 
him  the  head-jailer,  who  was,  by  his  request,  to  support  him,  and  to 
conduct  him  to  the  place  of  execution ;  and  two  under-jailers  were  ap- 
pointed to  walk  behind  the  carriage.  He  wore  a  dark  green  over- 
coat (not  an  old-German  black  coat,  as  various  papers  stated),  linen 
pantaloons,  and  laced  boots,  without  any  covering  on  his  head.  The 
carriage  and  its  personal  attendants  were  received,  before  the  prison, 
by  a  squadron  of  cavalry,  drawn  up  in  readiness.  The  procession 
advanced  to  a  meadow,  lying  not  far  from  the  city  gate,  where  was  the 
scaffold,  surrounded  with  a  square  of  infantry.  Sand  was  lifted  from 
the  wagon,  and  mounted  the  scaffold  himself,  leaning  on  the  shoulders 
of  the  two  under-jailers.  Having  arrived  at  the  top,  he  turned  him- 
self about,  with  rolling  eyes,  threw  quickly  down  upon  the  ground  a 
handkerchief  which  he  carried  in  his  hand,  lifted  up  his  right  hand,  as 
if  pronouncing  an  oath,  lifting  his  eyes  to  heaven  at  the  same  time, 
and  then  permitted  himself  to  be  led  to  the  block,  where  he  remained 
standing,  by  his  express  desire,  until  the  time  of  preparing  for  execu- 
tion. The  sentence  of  death  was  now  read  aloud  by  an  actuary,  and 
the  hands  and  body  of  the  prisoner  bound  fast  to  the  block,  Sand  say- 
ing, to  the  executioner's  servant,  in  a  low  voice,  'k  Do  not  tie  me  too 
tight,  or  you  will  hurt  me."  His  eyes  having  been  bound  up,  the  exe- 
cution was  finished,  the  head  being  severed  from  the  shoulders  with 
one  blow. 

The  execution  was  conducted  with  the  utmost  order,  and  in  the 
deepest  silence  on  the  part  of  the  spectators,  except,  at  the  moment  of 
the  decapitation,  some  expressions  of  sympathy  were  heard. 

A  little  before  the  stroke,  he  said,  in  an  audible  voice,  "God  gives 
me  much  pleasure  in  my  death — it  is  finished — I  die  in  the  grace  of 
my  God." 

He  died,  with  much  firmness,  and  entire  presence  of  mind,  about 
half-past  five.  His  body  and  the  separated  head  were  soon  placed  in  a 
coffin,  which  was  in  readiness,  and  which  was  immediately  fastened 
down.     The  military  escorted  the  body  back  to  the  prison. 


118  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

At  eleven  o'clock  on  the  following  night,  Sand's  body  was  buried  in 
the  Lutheran  church,  near  the  prison. 


It  remains  to  add,  from  the  documents  relating  to  the  trial,  as  given 
by  Hohnhorst,  some  matter  which  may  serve  to  fill  out  the  sketch  of 
Sand's  character,  and  to  explain  his  connection  with  the  society  of  the 
'•  Blacks,"  and  with  the  Burschensckaft,  and  with  particular  reference 
to  the  murder. 

His  expressions  as  to  religion,  patriotism,  politics,  are  quite  con- 
sistent with  those  in  his  diary  and  his  letters,  and  remarkably  with  the 
views  of  Karl  Follenius. 

On  Christianity,  Sand  expressed  himself  thus : 

"  1.  The  divine  laws  are  not  so  much  positive  commands  as  an  advisory- 
code,  by  which  man  may  govern  his  actions  according  to  his  own  convictions. 

11  2.  The  man  who  endeavors  to  seek  the  divine,  so  far  as  is  within  his 
power,  who  never  finds  pleasure  in  evil,  but  seeks  to  keep  it  as  distant  from 
him  as  possible  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  adheres,  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability, 
to  what  is  good, — he  represents  the  image  of  God  upon  earth. 

"  3.  But  this  knowledge  proceeds  only  from  the  man  himself;  it  consists  in 
his  determination  that,  as  soon  as  he  has  recognized  any  thing  as  true  and 
clear,  he  will  openly  confess  it  for  the  good  of  all.  When  a  man  has,  accord- 
ing to  his  powers,  so  recognized  a  truth,  that  he  can  say,  before  God,  '  This  is 
true,'  it  is  a  truth  also  when  he  does  it.  When  one  can  comprehend  his  whole 
being,  and  can  then  say,  before  God,  '  This  is  true,'  he  easily  becomes  concor- 
dant with  himself.  For  whither  would  it  lead,  if  men  should  assume  to  see, 
investigate,  and  condemn,  as  to  be  rejected,  their  own  endowments  ?  Every 
one  must  stand  for  himself  before  God. 

4 '  4.  But  one  who  seeks  to  repress  the  divine  in  man,  is  trebly  deserving  of 
murder  and  the  stroke  of  death. 

"  5.  Any  one  not  of  this  opinion,  or  who  would  apply  texts  of  the  Bible  to 
the  actions  of  a  criminal,  is  a  theological  blockhead."* 

For  such  did  Sand  pronounce  the  author  of  a  letter  to  him  from  an 
unknown  hand,  otherwise  a  very  well-meant  letter,  as  he  himself  said, 
in  which  he  was  admonished  to  receive  a  sense  of  his  crime,  with  a 
reference  to  various  places  in  the  Scriptures. 

He  prayed  God,  daily,  for  knowledge  and  enlightenment.  If  he 
should  learn,  by  divine  suggestion,  that  his  act  was  wrong,  he  would 
repent  it  from  that  hour ;  but,  so  far,  this  has  not  happened. 

As  to  the  laws  of  the  State,  and  the  State  itself,  he  said  :  "  A  reason- 
able faith,  properly  based  upon  the  understanding,  is  to  me  a  law.  I 
must  live  according  to  my  free  will ;  and  that  which  my  convictions 
have  determined,  I  must  live  up  to.  In  case  of  collision  with  earthly 
laws,  no  man  should  be  restrained  by  these,  if  any  thing  is  to  be  done 
for  the  fatherland."     In  a  true  human  state,  every  man  must  be  able 

*  Hohnhorst,  vol.  i.  pp.  109-111. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  119 

to  govern  himself  as  far  as  is  possible.  Germany  must  be  free,  and 
under  one  government. 

"The  logical  result  of  these  views,"  says  Hohnhorst,  correctly, 
"  seems  to  be  this :  My  own  conviction  is  my  law ;  I  do  right  when  I 
follow  it;  it  is,  for  me,  above  human  or  divine  precepts." 

With  an  incredible  inconsistency  with  these  views,  Sand  took  a  New 
Testament  with  him  on  his  journey  to  Mannheim,  and  strengthened 
and  edified  himself,  particularly  by  reading  the  Gospel  of  John.*  But 
he  also  took  with  him  Follenius'  hymn,  "  A  Christ  must  thou  become  !" 

"  The  end  sanctifies  the  means.  This  principle  found  in  Sand  a 
strenuous  supporter.  It  was,  he  said,  neither  dangerous  nor  shameful  ; 
for  it  was  made  abominable  by  the  Jesuits  only  because  they  applied 
their  means  to  shameful  ends.  All  means  for  a  good  end  must  always 
be  good."f  His  adherence  to  this  frightful  principle  explains  only  too 
well  Sand's  constant  and  hateful  lying  at  his  trial,  which  stood  in  the 
strongest  contrast  with  his  proud  endeavors  after  moral  perfection  and 
moral  heroism. 

Nearly  all  Sand's  sentiments  agree  entirely  with  those  of  Follenius, 
above  quoted ;  and  show,  obviously,  that  the  latter  had  completely  got 
control  of  poor  Sand,  who  had,  intellectually,  come  to  be  quite  near 
him ;  had,  in  truth,  unconditionally  enslaved  him  to  whom  free  and 
self-confirmed  conviction  was  to  be  the  highest  law  of  all  action.  There 
is  only  One  who  makes  truly  free  those  who  give  themselves  uncon- 
ditionally to  him. 

The  question  has  often  been  asked,  What  was  the  reason  of  Sand's 
murder  of  Kotzebue  ?  Sand  gave  the  answer,  the  night  after  the 
murder,  as  I  have  given  it.  Whether  Sand  was  acquainted  with  the 
details  of  Kotzebue's  life  and  writings,  cannot  be  certainly  ascertained.^ 

After  all  the  matter  which  I  have  quoted  from  and  relating  to  Sand, 
no  one  will  wonder  that  the  most  various  judgments  were  formed  upon 
his  deed. 

Such  persons  as  based  their  opinions  upon  a  strict  subjection  to  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  saw  nothing  except  a  positive  violation  of  the  divine 
command,  Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  and  no  defense,  however  subtle  and 
sophistical,  could   drive  them  from  this   belief.     And  yet   even   the 

*  "  In  the  world,"  says  Sand  (Hohnhorst,  i.  127),  "  men  have  sorrow,  wherever  they  go."  He 
had  applied  to  himself,  as  will  appear  from  his  letter  to  his  parents,  the  words  of  Christ,  "  In 
this  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation ;  but  be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome  the  world."  John, 
xvi.  33. 

t  Hohnhorst,  i.  119. 

X  Those  not  informed  as  to  Kotzebue's  character  are  referred  to  Appendix  VI.  for  a  passage  on 
his  work,  "  Bahrdt  with  the  iron  forehead,;'  from  the  General  German  Library,  vol.  exit 
pt  1,  p.  213,  &c. 


120  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

simplest  Christian  felt  that  this  murder  was  not  similar  to  murders  by 
criminals  whose  motives  were  personal  revenge,  robbery,  and  the  like. 
Thus,  a  profound  sympathy  with  Sand  was  united  with  the  fullest  con- 
demnation of  his  crime. 

This  connection  of  sentiments  was  the  basis  of  De  Wette's  much- 
quoted  letter  to  Sand's  mother  ;*  which,  it  must  always  be  remem- 
bered, was  written  only  eight  days  after  the  murder.  A  copy  of  this 
letter,  which  was  sent  to  the  King  of  Prussia,  occasioned  De  Wette's 
dismission.  In  the  beginning  of  this  letter  he  says  :  "The  deed  which 
he  has  committed  is,  it  is  true,  not  only  unlawful,  and  punishable  by 
earthly  judges,  but  also,  speaking  universally,  is  immoral,  and  con- 
trary to  the  moral  code.  No  right  can  be  established  by  wrong,  fraud, 
or  violence  ;  and  a  good  end  does  not  sanctify  wrong  means.  As  a 
teacher  of  morals,  I  cannot  countenance  such  actions ;  and  should  ad- 
vise that  evil  is  not  to  be  overcome  by  evil,  but  only  by  good." 
(Romans  xii.  21.)  De  Wette  wrote  with  confidence  to  the  Berlin 
theological  faculty,  "The  foregoing  general  moral  principles  laid  down 
in  the  letter,  according  to  which  I  declare  the  act  a  wrong  one,  will  be 
found  unblamable  by  the  faculty ;  they  are  those  of  the  Gospel."  He 
afterward  said  to  the  same  faculty,  "  Only  within  the  narrow  circle  of 
those  who  knew  and  loved  him  (Sand)  well,  and  to  his  relatives,  can 
it  be  pointed  out,  that  there  should  be  accorded  to  him  a  large  measure 
of  excuse  ;  not  an  unconditional  justification.  It  was  within  this  circle 
that  I  wrote  the  letter  of  comfort  to  the  mother;  I  did  not  obtrude 
myself  for  the  purpose,  but  circumstances  drew  me  into  it."f  .  .  . 
"  It  would  never  have  occurred  to  me  to  publish  that  letter  in  that 
form."J;  And  accordingly,  De  Wette  writes  to  the  mother,  that  he 
was  writing  to  her  a  "  defense"  of  her  son ;  and  this  is  so  true,  that  his 
letter  corresponds,  in  many  respects,  to  the  defense  made  for  Sand  by 
the  counsel  appointed  for  him  by  the  court. 

The  double  character  of  Sand's  action,  and  the  consequent  two  views 
to  be  taken  of  it,  appear  most  clearly  in  the  following  extract  of  De 
Wette's  letter  to  the  theological  faculty.  "Calixtus  says,  correctly, 
'Even  a  mistaken  conscience  is  binding;  and  one  who  acts  contrary 

*  "■Collection  of  documents  upon  the  dismission  of  Professor  Dr.  De  Wette,  published  by 
himself''    Leipzig,  1S20.    Vogel. 

t  De  Wette  had  met  Sand  in  Jena,  on  the  15th  of  August,  ISIS,  and  had  been  hospitably  re- 
ceived, at  Wunsiedel,  by  his  parents.     ("C.  L.  Sand,''''  p.  164.) 

X  De  Wette  refers  to  this  extract  from  Luther:  "There  is  a  great  difference  between  a  private 
and  a  public  letter ;  and  he  who  publishes  a  private  letter,  against  the  will  and  wish  of  its  writer, 
falsifies  not  four  or  five  words  of  it,  but  the  whole  letter ;  so  that  it  is  no  longer  the  same  letter, 
and  does  not  convey  its  right  meaning;  because  the  complexion  and  character  of  the  whole  let- 
ter, and  the  meaning  of  the  writer,  are  completely  perverted  and  altered"  "This,"  says  De 
Wette,  "bears  strongly  upon  my  case." 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  121 

to  his  mistaken  conscience,  sins.'  The  corresponding  proposition," 
continues  De  Wette,  "  is  true,  that  one  who  obeys  his  mistaken  con- 
science acts  conscientiously,  and  therefore  does  right.  By  his  truth  to 
himself  he  maintains  his  own  internal  consistency,  and  therefore  fulfills, 
within  his  sphere,  the  law  of  the  moral  world.  Nevertheless,  how- 
ever, it  certainly  remains  true  that  he  does  wrong  when  he  thus 
errs.1'* 

This  opinion  of  Calixtus  would  justify  all  the  crimes  of  such  fanatics  as 
Clement  and  Ravaillac.  But  the  question  is,  Has  not  this  mistaken  con- 
science always  a  definite  sin  at  the  root  of  it  ?  The  prophet  says  :  "  It  is 
told  thee,  0  man,  what  is  good,  and  what  the  Lord  require th  of  thee ; 
to  obey  the  word  of  God,  to  love  thy  neighbor,  and  to  be  humble  before 
thy  God."  And  St.  Paul  refers  to  "those  who  say,  'Let  us  do  evil 
that  good  may  come :'  whose  condemnation  is  just." 

Thus  the  apostle  most  distinctly  rejects  the  Jesuitical  principle  up- 
held by  Sand,  that  the  end  sanctifies  the  means;  and  the  prophet 
requires,  simply  and  unmistakably,  that  we  obey  God's  word  and  be 
humble  before  God.  Sand  having  lost  this  humility,  his  aims  became 
perverted  by  persons  who  acted  only  after  their  own  choice.  Them  he 
followed,  aud  in  pride  and  delusion  imagined  that  his  subjective,  god- 
less ideal  of  moral  perfection  stood  high  above  all  which  real  Christians 
recognize  as  a  holy  and  undoubted  duty.  He  was  like  a  shipmaster 
who  should  hoist  a  light  at  his  masthead,  and  steer  his  course  by  that 
instead  of  the  unvarying  polar  star  in  the  heavens.  To  realize  his 
distorted  ideal,  at  whatever  cost,  appeared  to  him  the  loftiest  moral 
heroism.  Betrayed  by  nis  pride,  and  his  conscience  deluded,  he  fell, 
in  violation  of  the  clearest  command  of  God,  into  a  great  crime. 

The  preacher  says  :  "  God  made  man  upright,  but  he  found  out  many 
inventions."  He  therefore  gave  him  a  right  conscience ;  but  by  his 
many  inventions — by  the  sophistry  of  his  pride — man  is  resolved  to 
free  himself  from  his  obligations  to  obey  God  and  his  word,  and  to 
establish  his  own  righteousness.  Thus  he  becomes  deaf  to  the  voice  of 
God  within  him,  at  last  drives  away  his  good  angel,  and  incurs  the 
penalties  of  delusion  and  hardness  of  heart.  In  this  delusion  Sand  re- 
mained, even  to  the  scaffold. 

But  it  is  not  my  task  to  discuss  further  the  question  of  conscience 
and  conscientiousness.    If  what  I  have  said  seems  too  harsh,  reason  may 

*  De  Wette,  p.  28.  Even  the  strongest  opponent  of  Sand's  moral  principles,  Jarcke,  says, 
"  Sand  was  one  of  those  deep  and  uncommon  natures  who  are  not  merely  superficially  influenced 
by  an  idea,  a  theory,  or  an  opinion  ;  but  who,  subjecting  their  whole  wills  to  it,  make  it  the  high- 
est and  only  rule  fur  their  life."  Thus  we  admire  the  bravery  even  of  foemen  ;  and  only  lament 
that  they  are  not  contending  on  the  right  side ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  despise  a  cowardly 
braggart.    It  seems  to  me  clear  that  Jarcke's  view  coincides  with  that  of  Calixtus  and  De  Wette. 


122  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

be  found  to  moderate  it  in  the  following  letter,  written  by  Sand  to  his 
friends  before  going  upon  his  fearful  errand  to  Mannheim  : 

"To  all  mine  : — 

"  True  and  ever  dear  souls  : — I  have  thought  and  hesitated  as  to  writing  to 
you,  lest  I  should  much  increase  your  grief.  For  sudden  information  of  my  deed 
might  cause  your  severe  sorrow  to  pass  by  more  easily  and  quickly  ;  but  the 
truth  of  love  would  thus  be  violated,  and  deep  sorrow  can  only  be  removed  by 
our  emptying  the  whole  full  cup  of  affliction,  and  thus  remaining  piously  sub- 
ject to  our  friend,  the  true  and  eternal  Father  in  heaven.  Out,  therefore,  from 
the  closed  and  unhappy  breast ;  forth,  thou  long,  great  agony  of  my  last 
words  ;  the  only  proper  alleviation  of  the  grief  of  parting  ! 

4 '  This  letter  brings  you  the  last  greeting  of  your  son  and  your  brother  ! 

"  I  have  always  said  and  wished  much  :  it  is  time  for  me  to  leave  off  dream- 
ing, and  to  proceed  to  act  for  the  needs  of  our  fatherland. 

"  This  is,  doubtless,  the  greatest  sorrow  of  living  on  the  earth,  that  God's 
affairs  should,  by  our  fault,  come  to  a  stand-still  in  their  proper  development ; 
and  this  the  most  dishonorable  reproach  to  us,  that  all  the  noble  objects  for 
which  thousands  have  boldly  striven,  and  thousands  have  gladly  sacrificed 
themselves,  should  now  sleep  again  in  sad  discouragement,  like  a  dream,  with- 
out lasting  results  ;  that  the  reformation  of  the  old,  lifeless  ways  should  be- 
come ossified,  half-way  to  success.  Our  grandchildren  will  have  to  suffer  for 
this  remissness.  The  beginning  of.  the  reformation  of  our  German  life  was 
commenced  with  spirits  encouraged  by  God,  within  the  last  twenty  years, 
especially  during  the  sacred  year  1813  ;  and  our  ancestral  residence  is  shaken 
from  the  foundations.  Forward  !  Let  us  rebuild  it,  new  and  beautiful,  aright 
temple  of  God,  such  as  our  hearts  long  to  see  it.  It  is  only  a  few  who  oppose 
themselves,  like  a  dam,  against  the  current  of  development  of  a  higher  human- 
ity in  the  German  people.  Why  should  multitudes  bow  themselves  again 
under  the  yoke  of  these  wretches  ?  Shall  the  good  that  was  awakening  for 
us  die  again  ? 

"  Many  of  the  most  reckless  of  these  traitors  are  unpunished,  pursuing  their 
designs  even  toward  the  complete  destruction  of  our  people.  Among  these, 
Kotzebue  is  the  acutest  and  vilest ;  the  true  mouthpiece  for  all  evil  in  our  day  ; 
and  his  voice  is  well  fitted  entirely  to  remove  from  us  Germans  all  opposition 
and  dislike  of  the  most  unrighteous  measures,  and  to  lull  us  again  into  the  old 
slothful  slumber.  He  daily  practices  vile  treason  against  the  fatherland,  and 
yet  stands,  protected  by  his  hypocritical  speeches  and  flattering  arts,  and 
covered  by  a  mantle  of  great  poetical  fame,  in  spite  of  his  wickedness,  an  idol 
to  half  of  Germany,  which,  deluded  by  him,  willingly  receives  the  poison 
which  he  administers  through  his  periodical.  If  the  worst  misfortunes  are  not 
to  come  upon  us — for  these  outposts  announce  the  coming  of  something  not 
free  nor  good  ;  and  which,  on  occasion  of  an  outbreak,  would  rage  among  us 
together  with  the  French — if  the  history  of  our  times  is  not  to  be  laden  with 
eternal  disgrace — he  must  go  down  ! 

"  I  have  always  said,  if  any  thing  beneficent  is  to  be  accomplished,  we  must 
not  shrink  from  contests  and  labor  ;  and  the  real  freedom  and  enthusiasm  of 
the  German  people  will  awaken  for  us  only  when  good  citizens  shall  dare  and 
endeavor — when  the  son  of  his  fatherland,  in  the  struggle  for  right,  and  for 
the  highest  good,  shall  set  aside  all  other  love,  and  love  only  death !  Who 
shall  attack  this  miserable  wretch — this  bribed  traitor  ?  In  distress  and  bitter 
tears,  praying  to  the  Highest,  I  have  long  waited  for  one  who  should  go  be- 
fore me,  and  relieve  me,  not  made  for  murder ;  who  should  free  me  from  my 
grief,  and  allow  me  to  proceed  in  the  friendly  path  which  I  had  chosen  for  my- 
self. Notwithstanding  all  my  prayers,  no  such  person  appeared  ;  and,  indeed, 
every  one  had  as  good  a  right  as  myself  to  wait  for  another.  Delay  makes  our 
condition  worse  and  more  pitiable  ;  and  who  shall  relieve  us  of  our  shame,  if 
Kotzebue  shall,  unpunished,  leave  the  soil  of  Germany,  and  expend  in  Russia 
the  treasures  he  has  earned  f  Who  shall  help  us,  and  save  us  from  this  unhappy 
condition,  unless  some  person — and  first  of  all,  I,  myself — shall  feel  called  upon 
to  administer  justice,  and  to  execute  what  shall  be  determined  on  for  the 
fatherland  ?     Therefore,  courageously,  forward  !     I  will  attack  him  with  con- 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  123 

fidence,  trusting  in  God  (be  not  frightened),  and  strike  down  the  disgracer  and 
perverter  of  our  people,  the  abominable  traitor,  that  he  may  cease  to  turn  us 
away  from  God  and  from  history,  and  to  deliver  us  over  into  the  hands  of  our 
most  cunning  adversaries.  To  this  an  earnest  sense  of  duty  impels  me.  Since 
I  have  known  how  lofty  an  object  there  now  is  for  our  nation  to  strive  after, 
and  since  I  have  known  him,  the  false,  cowardly  knave,  a  strong  necessity  lies 
upon  me — as  upon  every  German  who  considers  the  good  of  all.  May  I,  by 
this  national  vengeance,  turn  all  impulses,  and  all  public  spirit  toward  the 
point  where  falsehood  and  violence  threaten  us,  and  in  reason  direct  to  the 
right  quarter  the  fears  of  all  and  the  vigor  of  our  youth,  in  order  to  rescue 
from  its  near  and  great  peril  our  common  fatherland  of  Germany,  the  divided 
and  dishonored  union  of  its  states — may  I  inspire  fear  among  the  vile  and 
cowardly,  and  courage  among  the  good!  Writing  and  speaking  are  ineffi- 
cient— only  deeds  can  secure  this  union.  May  I  at  least  throw  a  brand  which 
shall  kindle  up  the  present  indolence,  and  help  to  maintain  and  increase  the 
flame  of  popular  feeling,  the  honorable  endeavor  of  humanity  after  the  things 
of  God  ! 

"  Therefore  am  I,  although  frightened  out  of  all  my  beautiful  dreams  for 
my  future  life,  still  peaceful,  and  full  of  confidence  in  God — even  happy — for  I 
know  that  the  way  lies  before  me,  through  night  and  death,  to  pay  all  the  debt 
which  I  owe  to  my  fatherland. 

"Farewell,  therefore,  true  souls!  This  sudden  separation  is  grievous,  and 
your  expectations  and  my  own  desires  are  disappointed.  But  may  this  matter 
be  a  preparation,  and  encourage  us  to  require,  first  from  ourselves,  what  the 
needs  of  the  fatherland  require  : — which  has,  with  me,  become  an  inviolable 
principle. 

"  You  will  ask  each  other  :  But  has  he,  by  our  sacrifices,  become  acquainted 
with  all  of  life  upon  this  earth,  the  pleasures  of  human  society,  and  had  he 
learned  deeply  to  love  this  land  and  his  chosen  vocation  ?  Yes,  I  have.  It 
was  under  your  protection,  by  your  innumerable  sacrifices,  that  country  and 
life  became  so  profoundly  dear  to  me.  You  introduced  me  to  learning  ;  I 
have  lived  in  free  mental  activity  ;  have  examined  history,  and  then  turned 
again  to  my  own  nature,  to  twine  myself  firmly  around  the  strong  pillar  of 
faith  forever,  and  by  free  researches  into  the  understanding,  to  attain  a  clear 
knowledge  of  myself,  and  of  the  greatness  of  things  around  me.  1  have  pur- 
sued, according  to  my  ability,  the  usual  course  of  learned  studies ;  have  been 
put  in  a  position  to  examine  the  field  of  human  learning,  and  have  discoursed 
upon  it  with  friends  and  men  ;  and  I  have,  to  become  better  fitted  for  actual 
life,  examined  the  manners  and  pursuits  of  men  in  various  parts  of  Germany. 

"  As  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  I  could,  with  pleasure,  live  such  a  life  ;  and  in 
the  future  destruction  of  our  present  society  and  learning,  God  would  help  me, 
if  1  were  true  to  my  office,  to  protect  myself!  But  shall  all  this  prevent  me 
from  averting  the  imminent  danger  to  my  fatherland  ?  Should  not  your  inex- 
pressible love  stimulate  me  to  risk  death  for  the  common  good,  and  for  the 
desires  common  to  us  all  ?  Have  so  many  of  the  Greeks  of  our  day  already 
fallen  for  the  sake  of  rescuing  their  nation  from  the  rod  of  the  Turk,  and  died 
almost  in  vain,  and  without  hope  for  the  future  ;  and  are  hundreds  of  them, 
even  now,  consecrating  themselves  for  the  work  by  education,  not  permitting 
their  courage  to  fail,  but  are  ready  to  give  their  lives  again  at  once  for  the 
good  of  their  country  ;  and  shall  I  hesitate  to  die  ?  Shall  we,  whose  rescue 
and  reformation  are  so  near  to  the  highest  good,  not  venture  any  thing  for  it  ? 

"  But  do  I  undervalue  your  love,  or  am  I  thoughtless  of  it  ?  Believe  it  not ! 
What  could  encourage  me  to  death,  if  it  were  not  the  love  to  you  and  to  my 
fatherland,  which  impels  me  to  inform  you  of  it  ? 

"  Mother,  you  will  say,  Why  have  I  brought  up  a  son  to  adult  years,  whom 
I  have  loved,  and  who  has  loved  me,  for  whom  I  have  endured  a  thousand 
cares  and  constant  solicitude;  who,  through  my  prayers,  became  capable  of 
usefulness,  and  from  whom  I  was  entitled,  in  the  last  days  of  my  weary  life,  to 
receive  filial  love  ?  Why  does  he  forsake  me  now  1  Dear  mother,  might  not 
the  mother  of  any  one  else  say  the  same  if  he  had  sacrificed  himself  for  the 
fatherland  ;  and  if  no  one  should  make  the  sacrifice,  where  would  the  father- 
land remain  ?  But  complaints  are  far  from  you,  and  you  know  no  such  speech, 
noble  woman !     I  have  before  received  your  charge  ;  and  if  no  one  will  step 


124  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

forward  on  behalf  of  Germany,  you  would  yourself  send  me  to  the  contest.  I 
have  still  two  brothers  and  sisters,  all  honorable  and  noble  ;  these  remain  to 
you  ; — I  follow  my  duty  ;  and  in  my  stead,  all  young  men  who  think  honora- 
bly for  their  fatherland,  will  be  true  children  to  you. 

"  My  vocation  was  for  this.  If  I  should  live  fifty  years  longer  I  could  not  live 
a  more  active  or  real  life  than  that  of  these  later  years.  This  is  our  vocation  ; 
that  we  acknowledge  the  only  true  God,  strive  against  evil,  and  praise  the 
Father  with  our  whole  lives.  In  the  world  we  have  sorrow,  but,  like  Christ, 
in  God  we  can  overcome  it.  Oh,  that  we  could  possess  his  peace  in  full  meas- 
ure !  Left  to  that  path  alone,  which  I  shall  follow,  I  have  no  other  resource 
but  to  him,  my  gracious  Father  ;  but  in  him  I  shall  find  courage  and  strength 
to  vancpiish  the  last  sorrow,  and  man-like  to  complete  my  important  tusk. 

"  To  his  protection,  his  encouragement,  I  recommend  you  ;  ami  may  he 
keep  you  in  a  joy  which  no  misfortunes  can  interrupt.  Overcome  your  sorrow 
by  the  enduring  joy  which  is  in  him  ;  and  think  not  of  my  sad  farewell,  but 
of  the  love  which  is  between  us,  and  which  can  never  end.  And  remain  true 
to  the  fatherland,  in  whatever  storms.  Lead  your  little  ones,  to  whom  I  would 
so  gladly  have  become  a  loving  friend,  speedily  out  upon  our  mighty  moun- 
tains, and  let  them  there,  upon  a  lofty  altar  in  the  midst  of  Germany,  conse- 
crate themselves  to  humanity,  and  vow  never  to  rest  nor  to  lay  down  the  sword 
until  we,  brother  races,  united  in  freedom — until  all  the  Germans,  as  one 
people,  under  one  free  constitution,  in  one  realm,  shall  be  indissolubly  bound 
together,  great  before  God,  and  powerful  among  the  surrounding  nations ! 

"  May  my  fatherland  remain  joyfully  looking  up  to  thee,  0  God  !  May  thy 
blessing  come  richly  upon  that  bold  band  among  the  German  people,  who, 
acknowledging  thy  great  grace,  are  courageously  determined  to  promote  the 
interests  of  pure  humanity,  thine  image  upon  earth  ! 

"'The  latest  cure,  the  highest,  is  the  sword! 
Within  the  true  heartdrive  the  lance, 
A  road  for  German  freedom  l' 

"Jena,  beginning  of  March,  1819. 

"  Your  son,  and  brother,  and  friend,  bound  to  you  in  everlasting  love, 

"  Cakl  Ludwig  Sand." 

Who  can  read  this  letter  without  the  deepest  emotion — without 
feeling  a  profound  sympathy  for  the  unhappy  man  who,  with  a  sore 
heart,  turned  away  from  the  path  of  peace,  led  astray  by  a  delusion  ? 

His  last  words,  before  his  death,  were,  "  I  die  in  the  grace  of  God." 
May  God  be  gracious  to  him,  and  to  all  of  us ! 

b. — Consequences  of  Sand's  Act. — Investigations. — Resolutions 
of  the  Union. — Dissolution  of  the  Bursciiensciiaft. 

We  have  been  long  occupied  with  Sand  and  his  act,  but  for  this 
will  not  be  blamed,  considering  the  immeasurable  consequences  of  it 
to  the  German  universities.  These  consequences  were  most  unhappy. 
The  Wartburg  festival  had  caused  a  great  excitement,  especially  the 
burning  of  the  books.  This  extravagant  execution  upon  works  which 
most  of  the  actors  in  it  did  not  know,  was  declared  to  be  high  treason 
by  the  enemies  of  the  Burschenschaft.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  by  the 
judicious  action  of  the  government  of  Weimar,  this  excitement  was 
quieted,  and  an  intelligent  and  just  estimate  made  of  the  good  and  evil 
of  the  festival, — even  the  Austrian  and  Prussian  governments  were  put 
at  ease. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  125 

But  no  one  had  any  idea  that  one  of  those  concerned  at  the  festi- 
val, as  if  driven  by  an  evil  demon,  was  to  break  up  and  destroy  the 
peace  and  all  the  quiet  and  beneficial  developments  which  sprang  from  it. 

Scarcely  had  Sand's  deed  become  known,  when  the  adversaries  of 
the  Burschenschaft  arose  again  everywhere,  and  boasted  that  they  had 
formed  the  only  just  judgment  of  the  Wartburg  festival.  This,  they 
said,  originated  with  a  general  revolutionary  conspiracy  of  academical 
students;  and  others  would  soon  follow  it.  This  time  the  views  of 
these  opponents  prevailed.  Even  those  favorable  to  the  students  were 
of  opinion,  that  although  foolish  and  extravagant  speeches,  and  even 
fantastic  actions,  could  be  pardoned  to  the  students,  because  judgment 
and  moderation  will  soon  come  to  them  with  years,  yet,  after  such  an 
action,  their  doings  assumed  an  appearance  so  seriously  criminal  that 
all  measures  must  be  resorted  to  for  eradicating  the  evil.  No  man  be- 
lieved that  Sand  had  been  entirely  isolated,  and  had  so  acted  without 
accessories  and  fellow-conspirators. 

The  evil  demon  who  had  betrayed  him  to  the  murder,  and  had  put 
into  his  heart  his  abominable  maxim,  might  seem  to  be  laughing  in 
scorn  at  the  consequences  of  his  action.  This  brought  to  pass  the  pre- 
cise opposite  of  all  that  Sand  held  for  most  desirable,  and  for  the 
attainment  of  which  he  had  thought  even  a  murder  not  only  permis- 
sible, but  sanctified.  For  instance,  the  king  of  Prussia,  upon  hearing 
of  it,  rejected,  upon  the  spot,  a  plan  which  had  been  laid  before  him 
for  connecting  Turning-departments  with  the  schools. 

The  murder  also  caused  endless  investigations.  Especially,  it  was 
naturally  sought  to  be  discovered  whether  any  others,  and  particularly 
members  of  the  Burschenschaft,  had  known  of  Sand's  design.  Hohn- 
horst,  the  president  of  the  investigating  commission,  states,  on  this 
point,  "  that  the  investigation  discovered  no  trace  whatever  of  any  par- 
ticular conspiracy  against  Kotzebue's  life."  And  again,  he  says : 
"Besides  that,  the  investigation  found  no  reliable  trace  of  any  con- 
spiracy whatever  against  Von  Kotzebue's  life ;  it  moreover  failed  to 
discover  any  certain  indications  that  there  were  any  accessories  to  the 
act,  who  took  either  an  active  or  passive  part  in  it,  by  encouragement 
or  concealment." 

The  investigation  was  next  directed  against  the  association  of  "  Un- 
conditional*" or  "  Blacks,"  at  whose  head  Karl  Follenius  was  considered 
to  be.  His  principles,  and  his  influence  upon  Sand  have  been  de- 
scribed ;  and  it  has  been  mentioned  that  he  had  followers  in  Giessen, 
but  that  in  Jena  only  three  students  had  submitted  themselves  "un- 
conditionally" to  his  instructions,  one  of  them  being  Sand.  But  that, 
even  in  Giessen,  Follenius'  influence  had  not  extended  to  a  great  num- 


126  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

ber,  appears  from  a  letter  of  a  Giessen  student  to  Sand,  dated  May  12, 
1818,  in  which  he  says,  "We  young  men  are  almost  alone  in  the  father- 
land ;  scarcely  ten  older  persons  are  unconditional  followers  of  the  truth." 

Jarcke  gives  some  details  respecting  this  association  of  the  Blacks, 
mostly  from  the  judicial  documents.  Among  others  is  "Outlines  of  a 
future  Constitution  for  an  Empire  of  Germany,  by  the  brothers  Fol- 
lenius ;"  Jarcke's  opinion  upon  which  is  as  follows  :  "  This  piece  of 
patchwork  is  not  unworthy  of  attention,  as  being  the  last  of  those 
paper  constitutions  which  the  revolutionary  system  brought  forth  by 
the  dozen.  At  its  basis,  as  at  that  of  Follenius'  '  Sketch  of  a  Consti- 
tution for  a  German  Republic,'  lies  a  complete  disregard  of  every  ex- 
isting right;  the  delusive  notion  that  it  is  possible  to  develop  a  living 
constitution  from  an  abstract  theory  ;  and  lastly,  the  political  dogma 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people." 

But  this  constitution  differs  from  others  of  the  same  kind  in  an  im- 
portant point,  namely  :  in  that  Christianity  is  an  element  in  it.  Thus, 
it  says,  "  Every  German  is  an  elector,  and  may  be  chosen  to  any  office, 
provided  he  has  been  admitted  to  partake  of  the  holy  sacrament." 
And  §  10  reads: 

"Since  the  Christian  faith  is  free  from  dogmas,  which  restrict  the 
growth  of  the  human  intellect,  and  as  a  faith  of  freedom,  truth,  and 
love,  is  in  agreement  with  the  whole  mind  of  man ;  it  is  therefore 
adopted  as  the  religion  of  the  empire.  Its  source — to  which  every 
citizen  has  free  access — is  the  New  Testament,  and  separate  sects  are  to 
be  consolidated  in  one  Christian  German  church.  Other  faiths,  which 
are  uncongenial  to  the  aims  of  humanity,  such  as  the  Jewish,  which  is 
only  a,  form  of  faith,  shall  not  be  allowed  in  the  empire.*  All  take 
part  in  public  worship  who  feel  the  need  of  it.  There  is  no  compul- 
sory belief  whatever ;  and  family  devotions  are  not  interfered  with." 

By  §  11,  the  clergy  are  officers  of  the  church,  and  are  to  be  models 
and  teachers  of  pure  Christianity. 

One  German  Republic  was  aimed  at,  and  one  German  Christian 
church ;  and  as  the  first  was  looked  for  from  a  consolidation  of  all  the 
small  German  states,  so  there  was  to  be  a  consolidation  of  all  the  con- 
fessions— or  sects,  as  they  called  them — into  one  church.  So  Sand 
wrote  :  "  We  Germans — one  empire  and  one  church."f  Ilis  political 
views,  indeed,  corresponded  entirely  with  those  of  Follenius. 

♦This  is  like  Rousseau,  who  put  together  the  religions  of  the  Jews,  Turks,  and  Christians,  and 
ahstracted  from  them,  jointly,  a  universal  religion,  adding,  that  if  any  one  should  teach  contrary 
to  this,  he  should  be  banished  from  the  community,  as  an  enemy  to  its  fundamental  laws. 
(See  this  work,  vol.  ii.  pp.  215,  21G.) 

t  Hohnhorst,  vol.  i.  p.  190,  in  Sand's  composition  entitled  "  Death  Blow." 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  127 

For  the  further  description  of  these  "  Blacks,"  Jarcke  cites  poems 
from  the  "  Free  Voices  of  Bold  Youth,"  by  the  brothers  Folle- 
nius.* 

To  make  this  description  complete,  however,  we  must  allude  to  a 
second  collection  of  hymns,  published  by  Adolph  Follenius,  with  the 
title  "Ancient  Christian  Hymns  and  Songs  of  the  Church,  in  German 
and  Latin,  with  an  Appendix.     By  A.  L.  Follenius." 

These  appeared  in  1819,  at  the  same  time  with  the  "Free  Voices." 
Their  preface  was  as  follows : 

"These  hymns  and  songs  mostly  date  back  to  that  mighty  time 
when  faith  removed  mountains;  that  is,  when  by  free  power  of  will  in 
faith,  wonders  were  believed,  and  therefore  could  happen,  such  as  the 
weakness  of  our  times  scoffs  at;  when  the  power  of  the  purely  divine 
in  the  human  mind  showed  itself  in  operating  upon  and  moving  mate- 
rial matter. 

"  The  author  is  convinced  that  these  hymns  and  songs  are  among 
the  noblest  fruits  which  have  ever  been  gathered  in  the  fields  of  poetry 
by  any  age  or  nation  ; — believing  that  the  oak  is  not  more  beautiful 
than  the  lily. 

"It  is  sad  that,  notwithstanding  the  recommendations  of  Herder, 
Schlegel,  and  others,  these  Christian  poems  are  almost  unknown  in 
the  Protestant  German  Christian  congregations,  are  not  so  much 
known  as  they  deserve  in  the  Catholic  German  ones,  and  have  never 
passed  from  the  Latin  hymn-book  into  German  life.  We  unfortunately 
have,  except  of  a  few  hymns,  not  even  an  endurable  German  transla- 
tion ;  while  the  genial  Horace  and  the  great  Virgil,  with  whom,  as 
heathens  tending  to  cultivate  the  mind,  young  Christians  cannot  too 
early  be  made  acquainted,  are  spread  all  over  the  learned  portion  of 
our  beloved  fatherland,  and  lie  on  every  table,  in  innumerable  German 
versions,  hexameter  and  others.  Our  ancient  popular  songs  and  Chris- 
tian hymns  seem  nearly  related  to  our  ancient  cathedrals  and  council- 
houses,  both  in  the  spirit  of  their  construction  and  in  their  fate.  In 
spirit, — for  these  poems,  like  the  cathedrals,  while  most  richly  and  ar- 
tistically finished,  even  to  the  smallest  particular,  never  lose  the  lofti- 
ness of  belono-incr  to  their  consecration  as  a  whole;  and  in  fate, — because 
the  subsequent  French,  Italian,  or  Greek  architecture  and  poetry  have 
covered  in  and  hidden  our  Christian  cathedrals  and  Christian  poetry, 
to  such  a  degree,  that  even  a  sight  of  them  can  only  be  had  after  dili- 
gent tracing  and  scouring." 

A.  Folleuius  selected  the  best  Latin  church  hymns,  and  translated 

*  A  second  edition  of  this  appeared  in  1820. 


128  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

them,  mostly  in  liis  own  spirit,  and  with  an  adaptation  to  his  own 
purposes.* 

In  this  collection,  church  hymns  and  worldly  political  songs  stand 
in  a  contrast  like  that  of  the  church  and  the  temporal  republic,  in  the 
prosaic  and  dry  scheme  of  Follenius'  Constitution  for  the  Empire.  There 
is  often  a  mingling  of  both  elements;  the  political  one,  however,  run- 
ning into  a  frightful  revolutionary  extreme. 

The  Latin  church  hymns  translated  by  A.  Follenius  are  purely 
ecclesiastical ;  and  being  mostly  distinctly  Catholic,  they  are  directly 
opposed  to  the  one  national  church  of  his  Constitution. 

As  an  example  of  his  politico-religious  hymns,  I  give  one  of  Buri's 
poems,  placed  by  A.  Follenius  in  the  appendix  to  his  ''Church 
Hymns."  It  bears  the  singular  title  of  "  Scharnhorst's  Last  Prayer;" 
and  is  as  follows : 

"Thoucall'st,  0  God! 
Thy  flaming  image  stands  on  high  uprear'd 
Within  proud  hearts  that  thee  have  never  fear'd! 

0  sea  of  grace  ! 

Thou  art  our  place 
Of  strength  in  need  ;  and  thou  our  might)'  tower, 
Whence  the  alarm  shall  sound  in  needful  hour. 

Through  want  and  death, 
Through  joy  and  grief,  stands  ever  open  wide 
The  fane  of  freedom.     As  we  long  have  sigh'd 

To  see  fall  down 

Beneath  thy  frown 
The  hold  of  tyranny,  so  let  it  be, 
That  freedom's  standard  we  unfurl' d  shall  see  ! 

0  Jesus  Christ ! 
Thy  words  are  plain  : — Freedom  alike  to  all. 
And  from  God's  love  and  oneness  he  doth  fall 

Who  to  this  word 

Of  grace  thus  heard, 
And  thus  confess' d,  doth  not  in  heart  hold  fast— 
For  this  word  doth  not  live,  and  die  for  it  at  last. 

My  heart,  how  low, 
Before  thy  God  in  meekness  art  thou  flung, 
Since  freedom's  spark  for  thee  to  flame  hath  sprung  I 

Such  strength  is  won 

By  love  alone  ; 
Such  doctrine  did  the  Saviour  still  dispense, 
And  such  hath  long  been  proved  the  best  defense. 

0  light  of  God! 
How  lords  and  knaves,  in  hate  and  envy,  still 
Strive  after  thee  ;  while  I,  my  faith,  my  will, 

Proudly  and  bold 

By  thy  cross  hold. 
Where  thou  thy  word  all-powerful,  sealest  sure, 
Which  shapes  thy  people  o'er,  for  freedom  pure. 


*  Among  these  hymns  are,  "  Quern  pastores  laudavere"  "  Stdbat  mater  dolorosa,"  "Dies 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  129 

My  people,  hear ! 
To  thee  I  call,  in  joyful  dying  strife  ; 
Thy  Saviour  comes  !     Awake  anew  to  life  ! 

The  mockers  fly ! 

The  tyrants  die ! 
Thy  standard  moves — the  victor's  cross  before  ! 
Onward  !  for  open'd  wide  is  Freedom's  door  I" 

The  same  hymn  is  given  in  the  "Free  Voices,"  but  remarkably 
altered.  The  title  here  is  "Kosciusko's  Prayer;"  and  Buri  inserted, 
after  the  fifth  stanza,  another,  which,  to  be  sure,  would  not  have  been 
more  inappropriately  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  dying  Seharnhorst 
than  the  others .* 

As  in  this  poem,  pride  and  humility,f  love  and  hate,  Christianity  and 
revolution,  the  most  discordant  elements  appear  in  conflict  with  each 
other;  so,  in  like  manner,  especially  in  many  of  Karl  Follenius' poems, 
the  demon  of  revolution,  entirely  unchecked  by  Christianity,  appears 
in  his  most  frightful  shape.  An  unbridled  and  unbounded  hate  of 
kings  inspires  and  preaches  rebellion  and  murder.J  -  It  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  that  after  Sand's  crime,  such  poems  should  no  longer  be 
endured  with  patience,  and  that  the  demoniac  violence  which  inspired 
them,  and  stimulated  to  similar  actions,  should  be  feared. 

Jarcke  gives  many  results  of  the  investigations  which  followed  Sand's 
deed,  particularly  oral  and  written  expressions  by  students  of  Giessen, 
Heidelberg,  Freiburg,  and  Jena.  They  agree,  in  general,  with  Sand's 
views.  On  the  question,  whether  the  end  justifies  the  means,  they 
were  not  agreed ;  at  Giessen,  a  majority  were  in  the  anrrmative.§  It 
also  appeared  that  the  murder  of  Kotzebue  was  approved,  and  even 
praised,  by  many. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  go  further  into  the  details  of  these  investi- 
gations, to  mention  the  punishments  which  were  inflicted  on  some  of 
the  young  men,  &c.  But  the  following  four  resolutions  are  of  very 
great  importance  to  the  universities,  which  were  passed  by  the  German 
Union  (Bundestag),  September  20,  1819,  and  published  in  Prussia,  on 
the  18th  October,  the  sixth  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Leipzig.  They 
are  as  follows  :|| 

"§  1.  There  shall  be  appointed,  at  each  university,  an  extraordinary 
royal  overseer,  with  proper  instructions,  and  wide  authority ;  to  be  a 
resident  at  the  university  city,  and  to  be  either  the  present  curator, 

*  There  was,  also,  a  characteristic  alteration  in  the  third  stanza.  Instead  of  the  words  ahove 
translated,  "Freedom  alike  for  all,"  were  inserted,  "  Freiheit,  Gleichlieit  A  lien"— "Freedom 
and  equality  for  all.*1    Evidently  the  well-known  shibboleth  of  the  Revolution. 

f  Compare  the  first  three  lines  of  the  first  stanza  with  the  same  of  the  last. 

%  See  the  poem  already  mentioned  as  distributed  by  Sand,  "  Human  crowd,  O  thou  great 
human  desert;"  and  the  so-called  "  Hymn  of  Union  of  the  United  Netherlanders,"  in  the  "-Free 
Voices."    Jarcke  cites  others.  §  Jarcke,  13S.  1  See  Koch,  i.  15. 

No.  17.— [Vol.  VI.,  No.  2.]— 9  9 


130  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

or  some  other  person  recognized  as  fit  fur  the  place  by  the  govern- 
ment. The  office  of  this  overseer  shall  be,  to  provide  for  the  fullest 
compliance  with  existing  laws  and  disciplinary  regulations  ;  carefully 
to  observe  the  spirit  in  which  the  academical  teachers  deliver  their 
public  and  private  instructions,  and  to  exercise  over  them  a  healthful 
control,  without  immediately  interfering  in  their  scientific  duties,  or 
methods  of  instruction,  and  with  reference  to  the  future  destinies  of 
the  students  ;  and,  in  general,  to  devote  his  uninterrupted  attention  to 
every  thing  which  can  promote  good  order  and  external  propriety 
among  the  students.  The  relations  of  this  extraordinary  overseer  to 
the  academical  senate,  and  all  matters  connected  with  the  details  of  his 
field  of  labor,  and  his  occupations,  are  to  be  set  forth,  as  fully  as  pos- 
sible, in  the  instructions  which  he  is  to  receive  from  his  government, 
having  reference  to  the  circumstances  which  have  occasioned  the  ap- 
pointment of  such  overseer. 

"  §  2.  The  governments  of  the  German  Union  pledge  themselves  to 
each  other,  that  if  any  teacher  in  a  university,  or  other  public  teacher, 
shall  be  guilty  of  proved  dereliction  of  duty,  or  transgression  of  the 
limits  of  his  duty,  by  misusing  his  proper  influence  on  the  young,  or 
promulgating  instructions  of  an  injurious  nature,  as  at  enmity  with 
public  order  and  quiet,  or  subversive  of  the  principles  of  existing  gov- 
ernments ;  and  shall  thus  give  unmistakable  evidence  of  unfitness  for 
the  important  office  confided  to  him,  they  will  exclude  him  from  the 
universities  and  other  public  institutions  for  education ;  no  impedi- 
ments being  by  this  intended  to  be  opposed  to  the  progress  of  such  in- 
stitutions, as  long  as  this  resolution  shall  remain  in  force,  and  until 
definite  regulations  shall  have  been  made  on  the  subject.  But  no 
such  measure  shall  be  resolved  upon,  except  after  a  proposition  by  the 
government  overseer  of  the  university,  thoroughly  explained  by  him, 
or  upon  a  report  sent  in  previously  by  him.  An  instructor  dismissed 
in  this  manner  cannot  receive  an  appointment  in  any  public  educa- 
tional institution  whatever,  of  any  of  the  States  of  the  Union. 

"§  3.  The  laws  which  have  long  existed  against  secret  or  unauthor- 
ized associations  in  the  universities  shall  be  enforced  in  their  whole 
extent  and  significance,  especially  against  that  society  established 
within  a  few  years,  under  the  name  of  the  General  Burschenschaft,  and 
the  more  strictly  against  this  society,  inasmuch  as  it  is  based  upon  an 
altogether  inadmissible  permanent  connection  and  correspondence  be- 
tween different  universities.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  government 
overseers  to  exercise  especial  watchfulness  on  this  point.  The  govern- 
ments agree  with  each  other,  that  individuals  who,  after  the  publication 
of  this  resolution,  shall  be  proved  to  have  remained  in,  or  entered  a 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  131 

secret  or  unauthorized  association,  shall  be  appointed  to  no  public 
office. 

"§  4.  No  student  who  shall  have  been  dismissed  from  a  university 
by  decree  of  a  government  overseer,  or  of  a  university  senate,  upon  his 
motion,  or  who  shall  leave  the  university  to  avoid  the  result  of  such  a 
decree,  shall  be  admitted  into  any  other ;  and,  in  general,  no  student 
shall  be  received  from  one  university  into  another,  without  a  satisfac- 
tory testimonial  of  his  good  standing  at  the  former. 

"Done  and  given  at  Berlin,  October  18,  1819." 

The  third  of  these  sections  required,  unconditionally,  the  dissolution 
of  the  General  Burschenschaft. 

Thus  far,  we  have  discussed  only  the  investigations  in  the  matter  of 
Sand,  and  respecting  the  association  of  the  "Blacks,"  or  "Uncondition- 
als,"  of  which  Sand  was  a  member,  and  whose  views  he  not  only  believed 
in,  but  had  proposed  to  carry  out  into  practice,  and  enlighten  all  by 
his  example. 

But  it  was  not  thought  sufficient  to  punish  him  only  who  was  found 
guilty.  Evil-disposed  men  stirred  up  an  incessant  excitement  about 
the  vile  murder  of  Sand,  and  disturbed  peaceful  people.  By  means  of 
the  phantom  of  an  extensive  revolutionary  conspiracy,  they  were  en- 
abled to  cause  upright  princes  to  execute  the  most  unjust  measures, 
and  to  disgrace  the  most  honorable  men.  How  unrighteous,  for  in- 
stance, were  the  measures  pursued  against  Arndt,  the  truest  of  patriots, 
who  has  done  such  infinite  service  to  Germany  I* 

The  inquiry  was  now  made,  whether  the  Burschenschaft,  though 
neither  an  accomplice  in,  nor  cognizant  of  Sand's  deed,  was,  neverthe- 
less, based  upon  the  same  religious,  moral,  and  political  dreams  and 
principles  from  which  that  action  had  followed.     By  no  means. 

The  result  of  the  criminal  investigations  showed  that  no  member  of 
the  Burschenschaft  knew  of  Sand's  crime,  nor  was,  in  any  way  what- 
ever, accessory  to  it. 

To  what  we  have  already  given,  may  be  added  the  following  re- 
mark of  the  investigating  judge,  who  says  :f  "While  the  academical 
senate  at  Jena  asseverated  that  the  Burschenschaft  there  had  not  the 
least  connection  with  Sand's  act,  the  Mannheim  investigations  left  no 
reason  for  doubting  this,  and  there  was  no  reason  for  claiming  that 
Sand's  relations  to  the  Jena  German  Burschenschaft  had  even  the  most 
indirect  influence  upon  his  crime." 

But  what  were  the  relations  of  the  Burschenschaft  and  the  society 
of  the  "  Unconditional  ?" 

*  See  Arndt's  "  Forced  Account  of  my  Lifer    1S47.  t  Ilohnborst,  ti.  49. 


132  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

By  §  8  of  the  Jena  statutes,  "The  Burschenschaft  can  exist  onlj  in  a 
free  and  public  social  life  suitable  to  students ;"  while  that  society  was 
obliged  to  conceal  its  views  and  purposes,  and  thus  assumed  a  charac- 
ter entirely  opposed  to  that  of  the  Burschenschaft.  "The  Burschen- 
schaft rejected  the  character  of  a  secret  association,"  wrote  one  who 
knew  it  thoroughly.*  We  have  seen  that  Karl  Follenius,  the  leader 
of  the  "  Unconditionals,"  had  only  three  followers  in  Jena,  and  that 
among  the  numerous  other  members  of  the  Burschenschaft  he  met 
with  no  success.  "  The  Jena  Burschenschaft,"  says  another  author,f 
"  received  not  the  least  influence  from  all  the  efforts  which  the  friends 
of  Karl  Follenius  made  in  various  ways." 

Jarcke's  statements,  and  the  letters  and  statements  of  the  "Uncon- 
ditionals" which  he  gives,  agree  exactly  on  this  point. 

A.,  a  student  from  Heidelberg,  declared];  that  "The  Burschenschaft 
had  merely  established  a  general  union  for  the  cause  of  Germany ; 
but  nothing  more  than  this  could  be  expected  from  an  association 
which  was  at  least  twenty  times  larger  than  the  society  (of  Uncon- 
ditionals), for  nothing  judicious  could  come  from  it.  For  this  reason, 
those  of  the  Burschenschaft  who  trusted  in  each  other  to  pursue,  with 
earnestness  and  perseverance,  the  often  contemplated  plan  (of  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government),  united  themselves  into  a  smaller  associa- 
tion :  that  is,  into  the  society." 

L.,  a  member  of  this  smaller  society  at  Jena,  wrote,  July  24,  1818, 

to  A ,  "The  students  in  general  disgust  me;  it  is  a  miserable, 

pitiful  brood ;  God  preserve  the  world  and  the  fatherland  from  any 
salvation  which  is  to  come  through  them !  I  do  nothing  for  the 
Burschenschaft  with  pleasure  and  pride,  but  only  out  of  duty.  I  have 
long  given  up  the  idea  that  our  salvation  is  to  come  from  the  universi- 
ties. There  are  at  least  nineteen  rascals  to  one  good  fellow.  That 
sounds  hard,  but  it  is  true.  God  preserve  us  from  such  salvation  as 
can  come  through  such  fellows !" 

G.,  also  a  member  of  the  same  smaller  society  at  Jena,  wrote  at  or 
about  the  some  time  to  A ,  "  It  is  out  of  the  question  to  accom- 
plish what  we  aim  at  merely  through  the  Burschenschaft.  I  see, 
daily,  that  through  their  means  alone  we  shall  never  arrive  at  the 
point  at  which  we  aim." 

That  this  society  would  gladly  have  perverted  the  whole  Burschen- 
schaft to  a  concurrence  in  its  own  principles  and  foolish  plans  is  clear; 
but  how  little  was  accomplished  in  this  direction  at  Jena  we  have 
seen.     This  appears  from  the  above  letter  of  L.,  who  was  a  member  of 

*  "  German  Youth;''  &c,  p.  82.  fib,  p.  S3.  %  Jarcke,  p.  196. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  133 

the  society  at  Jena,  and  who  was  profoundly  in  enmity  with  the 
Burschenschaft,  which  opposed  the  tendencies  of  the  "  Unconditional)*." 
G.  speaks  to  the  same  effect,  but  more  mildly. 

The  Burschenschaft,  therefore,  came  unscathed  from  all  the  inves- 
tigations of  1819.  But  in  the  apprehension  that  they  might  after- 
ward fall  into  error,  it  was  not  thought  sufficient  to  punish  the  guilty, 
but  the  whole  society  was  abolished.  We  shall  see  that  this  disso- 
lution was  the  direct  cause  of  the  subsequent  real  faults  of  the  Bursch- 
enschaft. 

Upon  the  publication   of  the  decree  of  dissolution   to  the  Jena 
Burschenschaft,  they  wrote  to  their  protector  at  that  time,  the  Grand 
Duke  of  Weimar,  as  follows : 
"  Most  Serene  Grand  Duke  ! 

"  Most  Gracious  Lord  and  Prince  ! — The  confidence  which  we  have 
learned  to  feel  in  your  Royal  Highness  causes  us  to  believe  that  we 
need  apprehend  no  difficulty  in  expressing,  once  more,  our  feelings 
toward  your  Royal  Highness,  now  that  we  are  separated  and  torn 
away  from  the  beautiful  hopes  which  had  grown  up  in  our  young 
heart?,  in  the  unity  and  harmony  of  an  allowed  and  virtuous  social 
life. 

"  It  was  the  will  of  your  Royal  Highness  that  the  Burschenschaft 
should  be  dissolved.  That  will  has  been  carried  into  effect.  We 
hereby  declare,  solemnly  and  publicly,  that  we  have  paid  strict  obedi- 
ence to  the  command,  and  have  ourselves  dissolved  our  association,  as 
was  ordered ;  we  have  torn  down  what  we  had  built  up  after  our  best 
knowledge,  upon  mature  experiment,  with  upright  and  blameless  good 
faith,  and  with  the  genuine  belief  that  we  were  doing  a  good  thing. 
The  consequences  have  answered  our  expectation,  and  there  grew 
up  a  virtuous  and  free  mode  of  life.  Trustful  publicity  took  the  place 
of  creeping  secrecy ;  and  we  could,  without  shame,  and  with  a  good 
conscience,  display  to  the  eyes  of  the  world  what  we  had  meditated  in 
our  inmost  hearts,  and  had  carried  out  into  actual  existence.  The 
spirit  of  love  and  of  uprightness  led  us,  and  the  voices  of  the  better 
part  of  the  public  have  sanctioned  our  efforts  down  to  a  very  late  period. 

"The  spirit  which  has  united  us  has  sunk  deep  into  the  bosoms  of 
each  one  of  us.  Each  of  us  understands  what  should  be  the  relations 
of  one  German  youth  to  another.  The  right  of  standing  by  one 
another,  in  its  ancient  form,  was  discontinued.  Good  morals  were  the 
first  and  last  motives  of  our  united  action.  Our  life  whs  intended  to 
be  a  preparatory  school  for  future  citizens.  This  fact  has  not  escaped 
your  Royal  Highness ;  and  the  two  searches  of  our  papers  have  not, 
according  to  our  best  knowledge,  led  to  any  different  conclusion. 


134  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

"  This  school  is  now  closed.  Each  of  its  members  will  depart  with 
what  he  has  learned.  This  he  will  retain,  and  in  him  it  will  live. 
What  they  all  have  recognized  as  true,  will  continue  true  to  each. 
The  spirit  of  the  Burschenschaft,  the  spirit  of  virtuous  freedom  and 
equality  in  our  student  life,  the  spirit  of  justice,  and  of  love  to  our 
common  country,  the  highest  of  which  man  can  be  conscious— this 
spirit  will  dwell  in  each  of  us,  and  will  lead  him  forward  for  good, 
according  to  his  capabilities. 

"These  things,  however,  grieve  us  deeply  :  first,  our  influence  upon 
those  who  shall  come  after  us ;  and  second,  that  our  efforts  have  been 
misunderstood,  and  misunderstood  publicly.  In  truth,  we  could  not 
have  been  wounded  more  deeply.  Only  the  good  conscience  within 
our  bosoms  can  teach  us  that  no  one  can  destroy  our  own  honor,  and 
can  show  us  the  means  of  consolation  for  this  injustice. 

"As  it  regards  this  decree,  we  leave  it  to  time  to  justify  us,  and  will- 
ingly admit  the  belief  that  at  least  there  has  been  a  time  when  our 
efforts  were  not  misunderstood,  even  by  our  noble  prince  and  lord. 
Nothing  shall  change  our  love  to  him ;  and  perhaps  some  better  day 
shall,  in  future,  permit  us  gratefully  to  prove  it  to  him. 

"  With  warm  wishes  for  our  fatherland,  and  for  the  prosperity  of 
your  Royal  Highness,  we  subscribe  ourselves,  in  unchangeable  love, 
your  Royal  Highness'  most  faithful  servants, 

"The  Members  of  the  Late  Burschenschaft." 

A  hundred  and  sixty  signed  the  document. 

Binzer,  one  of  them,  composed  the  following  song,  afterward  ex- 
tensively sung : 

"  A  house  we  had  builded, 
So  stately  and  fair  ; 
There  trusting  to  be  shielded, 
In  God,  from  storm  and  care. 

"  We  lived  there  so  gayly, 
So  friendly,  so  free  ; 
It  grieved  the  wicked  daily, 
Our  true  accord  to  see. 

"  That  fair  house  may  perish, 
When  greatest  our  need — 
Its  spirit  still  we  cherish — 

But  God's  our  strength  indeed." 

Both  letter  and  song  testify  to  a  good  conscience. 

After  the  dissolution  of  the  Burschenschaft,  the  strictest  measures 
were  taken  to  prevent  its  re-establishment.  These  remind  us  of  those 
employed  in  the  seventeenth  century  to  uproot  the  abominable  system 
of  Pennalism.  Yet  no  two  things  could  be  more  completely  opposed 
than  were  Pennalism  and   the    Burschenschaft.     The  latter  had  an 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  135 

especial   contest  with  the  associations   corresponding   to  the   earlier 
'•  Nations,"  in  which  Pennalism  had  its  home. 

We  have  given  Klupfel's  description  of  the  Landsmannschaften,  and 
have  seen  how,  at  the  time  of  the  War  of  Freedom,  there  had  been  a 
profound  moral  change  and  reformation  in  a  large  part  of  the  academical 
youth.  The  same  students  who  then  followed  the  standards  as  volun- 
teers, and  fought  in  those  ever-memorable  battles,  now  fought  a  second 
time,  as  volunteers  against  the  profound  demoralization  of  the  univer- 
sities. We  call  them  volunteers,  for  they  did  not  act  at  the  command 
of  the  authorities,  nor  did  their  movements  proceed  from  a  new  code 
of  laws;  but  from  the  young  men's  hearts,  which  God  had  drawn  to- 
ward himself,  and  renewed.  The  advantages  which  followed  were 
such  as  neither  commands  nor  prohibitions  had  availed  to  secure.  I 
will  mention  but  a  few. 

"Almost  all  the  Burschenschafts  very  early  banished  the  hazard- 
table  from  their  precincts."* 

"  Above  all,  the  duel  was  disapproved  for  various  reasons,  and  often 
altogether  rejected  ;  and  this  without  any  injury  to  those  who  adhered 
to  this  opinion.  By  means  of  the  courts  of  honor,  the  disuse  of  the 
duel  was  carried  to  a  point  beyond  all  expectation.  In  the  summer  of 
1815,  there  were  once,  at  Jena,  thirty-five  duels  in  one  day,  and  a 
hundred  and  forty-seven  in  one  week,  among  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  students.  In  the  summer  of  1819,  the  court  of  honor  decided  for 
the  fighting  out  of  eleven  duels  among  seven  hundred  and  fifty  stu- 
dents; and  about  forty  were  brought  before  it.  No  duel  was  allowed 
until  after  reference  to  the  court  of  honor.  No  witness,  second,  or  sur- 
geon, was  to  attend  a  duel  without  such  reference ;  and  it  may  be  con- 
fidently asserted  that  no  duel  took  place  without  the  previous  reference 
to  the  court  of  honor,  as  long  as  that  court  could  inflict  the  penalty  of 
exclusion  from  the  association.  The  proportion  of  duels  to  those  of 
previous  periods  was  similar  in  other  Burschenschafts."f 

Within  my  own  knowledge,  a  society  had  been  formed  in  Berlin, 
which  wholly  excluded  the  duel,  and  was  upheld  in  so  doing  by  the 
Burschenschaft. 

"  Among  the  virtues  of  their  ancestors,  that  of  chastity  was  set  very 
high.  It  was  no  longer  considered  witty  to  make  sport  of  innocence 
or  ignorance  of  play ;  and  it  was  thought  a  shame  to  resort  to  licensed 
houses  of  ill-fame."J 

"  Conscious  of  such  an  endeavor  after  an  inward  moral  reform,  the 

*  «  German  Youth,"  &c,  p.  34.  I  was  assured  that  this  was  the  fact  as  to  the  members  of  the 
Burschenschaft  at  Halle.  t  lb.,  pp.  29,  30. 

X  lb.,  p.  35.    The  same  was  true  at  Halle,  by  the  testimony  of  students  there. 


136  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

Burschenschaft  could  neither  seek  secrecy,  nor  be  indifferent  to  a 
recognition  of  the  authorities.  Thus,  they  acquired  an  open,  straight- 
forward, and  downright  character.  They  endeavored,  everywhere,  to 
secure  the  approbation  of  the  authorities,  both  by  their  conduct  as  a 
society,  and  by  attempts  to  secure  direct  recognition.  They  had  no 
idea  that  they  could  be  considered  dangerous  to  the  state;  and  when 
this  character  was  given  to  them,  there  crept  in,  with  the  secrecy 
which  then  obtained  in  their  organization,  an  unreasonable  fancy  re- 
specting it,  which  led  them,  like  boys,  not  to  fear  a  contest  with  the 
authorities,  and  even  with  the  law  itself.  They  could  scarcely  have 
foreseen,  that  with  this  secrecy,  and  this  delusive  opinion,  the  first  con- 
dition of  their  good  character — moral  uprightness — would  be  de- 
stroyed."* 

While  the  earlier  innocent  years  of  the  Burschenschaft  are  truly 
delineated,  the  origin  and  the  development  of  their  downfall  is  also 
correctly  pointed  out.     This  will  appear  from  the  following  account. 

F.— Halle.     (1819-1823.) 

I  was  transferred  from  Breslau  to  Halle  in  the  year  1819.  I  had 
passed  through  many  severe  struggles ;  and  still  severer  ones  lay  be- 
fore me.f 

As  to  my  own  office  as  an  instructor,  I  was,  for  the  second  time, 
put  in  charge  of  an  academical  collection  of  minerals,  which  was  not 
nearly  adequate  to  the  purposes  of  thorough  instruction  ;  and  I  sought 
in  vain  for  assistance,  in  this  respect,  during  four  years.  I  was  obliged 
to  content  myself  with  the  use  of  a  tolerable  private  collection,  which 
its  proprietor  very  kindly  allowed  me  to  use  for  my  lectures.  I  occu- 
pied myself,  also,  with  practical  instructions  in  geognosy,  making 
geognostic  excursions  during  two  afternoons  of  the  week,  in  which  the 
Prussian  mining  students,  more  especially,  joined.  I  lectured  here  on 
pedagogy,  for  the  first  time,  in  1822. 

I  occupied,  with  my  family,  the  house  and  garden  formerly  Keich- 
ardt's,  at  Giebichenstein,  half  a  mile  from  Halle,  and  where  I  had 
enjoyed  such  happy  days  when  a  student  there.  A  young  theological 
student,  whom  I  had  known  at  Breslau,  was  the  first  who  came  to  live 
with  me,  but  others  soon  followed  him. 

The  Burschenschaft  was  dissolved  at  Halle,  as  well  as  at  the  other 
universities.  A  singular  condition  of  affairs  was  the  result.  The  same 
students  who  had  lived  together  as  the  Burschenschaft,  remained  at 
Halle.     They  were  no  longer  to  associate  together.     Let  their  conduct 

*  "  German  Youth;'1  Ac,  p.  36.  t  See  "  History  of  Pedagogy,1"  part  3,  §  2,  pp.  236-239. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  137 

be  as  honorable  and  open  as  possible,  this  did  not  avail  to  prevent 
them  from  becoming  suspected  by  the  authorities,  and  from  being 
most  incessantly  watched  over  by  them.  They  had,  up  to  the  publi- 
cation of  the  decree  of  September — up  to  October  18,  1819 — been  not 
only  associated  together  as  members  of  the  Burschenschaft,  but  had 
been,  personally,  the  most  intimate  friends;  and  it  was,  therefore,  a 
strange  requirement  that  they  should,  from  that  day,  become  indiffer- 
ent to  each  other,  and  that  all  social  intercourse  among  them  should 
be  interdicted. 

The  Prussian  government,  agreeably  to  the  decree  of  September, 
appointed  a  government  overseer  to  each  of  its  universities.  The  office 
of  these  was,  not  only  to  watch  over  the  students,  but,  as  section  1  of 
the  decree  requires,  over  the  instructors  also.  All  dignity  and  influ- 
ence was  thus  taken  from  the  academical  senate ;  and  instead  of  a 
paternal  academical  discipline,  was  introduced  a  completely  police-like 
practice,  which  was  harsher  for  the  reason  that  only  evil  was  presumed 
from  those  previously  members  of  the  Burschenschaft.  And,  on  the 
other  hand,  even  the  most  immoral  students  were  countenanced  and 
protected,  because  they  were  considered  adversaries  to  the  Burschen- 
schaft; persons  to  whom  the  ideals  of  that  body  were  only  a  jest. 

A  similar  distinction  was  made  among  the  professors,  accordingly 
as  they  were  considered  partisans  or  opponents  of  the  reaction  which 
was  introduced. 

At  Berlin,  Privy  High  Government  Councilor  Schultz  was  appointed 
over  the  university ;  a  harsh,  self-conceited,  and  intensely  reactionary 
man.  "  Irritated  at  the  senate  and  the  professors,  of  whom  he  regarded 
Schleiermacher  and  Savigny  as  the  chief  friends  of  the  Burschenschaft, 
he  required  the  senate,  in  January,  1820,  to  justify  themselves  in  rela- 
tion to  their  connection  with  the  Burschenschaft."*  On  the  2 1  st  March, 
1820,  Schleiermacher  wrote  to  Arndt,  "While  Schultz  persecuted  the 
Burschenschaft,  he  extravagantly  favored  the  Landsmannschaften,  who 
are  eminently  the  destruction  of  the  university."  On  the  18th  of 
August,  1822,  Schultz  declared  that  "He  was  now  convinced  that  he 
could  no  longer  reckon  upon  truth  and  good  faith  in  his  dealings  with 
the  ministry  ;  and  that  it  is  to  those  officials  themselves  that  the  faults 
of  the  members  of  the  secret  societies  are  to  be  imputed."f 

But  this  dignitary  had  already  seen  how  fruitless  were  all  his  strin- 
gent regulations.  In  a  letter  of  October  29,  1821,  he  wrote,  "It  is 
astonishing  to  what  an  extent  those  disorders  in  the  university,  for 
whose  removal  I  have  now  labored  for  two  years  with  the  greatest 


*  "  Correspondence  between  Goethe  and  State  Councilor  Schultz,"  p.  76.  t  lb.  p.  76. 


138  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

zeal,  increase  from  day  to  day  ;  aud  the  circumstances  attending  my 
labors  are  such,  that  I  see,  with  sorrow,  the  moment  approaching  when 
I  must  resign  my  post  with  reproach  and  shame,  even  if  vexation  and 
useless  labor  do  not  sooner  entirely  destroy  my  health  and  put  me  out 
of  the  world."* 

The  example  of  Schultz  shows  how  much  difficulty  and  harm  may 
be  caused  by  misuse  of  his  functions,  on  the  part  of  a  harsh,  reckless, 
short-sighted,  and  proud  overseer.  Vice-president  of  Mines  Von  Witz- 
leben,  appointed  over  the  university  of  Halle,  was  diametrically  the 
opposite  of  Schultz.  He  was  mild,  always  benevolent,  and  a  supporter 
of  every  thing  good.f  But  the  nature  of  the  office  which  had  been 
conferred  upon  him  was  any  thing  rather  than  mild.  He  was  obliged 
to  obey  the  orders  of  others.  What  he  saw  at  Halle,  and  the  results 
of  his  investigations  there,  was  not  permitted  to  determine  his  view7s 
or  his  actions.  It  was  said  that  the  proceedings  at  the  separate  uni- 
versities could  only  be  correctly  judged  of  at  the  central  point  of  the 
investigations ;  only  at  Mainz,  the  seat  of  the  investigating  commis- 
sion appointed  by  the  Union,  which  could  overlook  the  whole  con- 
spiracy. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Burschenschaft  wras  made  to  suffer  for  the 
transgressions  which  Sand  had  committed,  both  in  word  and  deed,  but 
the  association  of  the  TJnconditionals  in  revolutionary  prose  aud 
poetry. 

No  pains  whatever  were  taken  to  distinguish  between  the  innocent 
and  the  guilty,  but  the  whole  Burschenschaft  was  declared  guilty,  and 
its  dissolution  was  as  sternly  followed  up  as  if  it  had  been  judicially 
convicted  of  the  accusations  against  it.  It  is,  therefore,  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  that  a  man  otherwise  so  upright  and  mild  as  Witzleben, 
came  to  see  wricked  secrets  and  intrigues  everywhere,  and  at  last,  even 
to  think  the  very  honestest  of  the  students  the  most  cunning,  and 
utterly  unworthy  of  any  confidence. 

I  myself  enjoyed  the  fullest  confidence  of  those  students  at  Halle  who 
had  belonged  to  the  Burschenschaft.  They  complained  to  me  that, 
notwithstanding  their  punctual  obedience  to  the  laws,  they  were  treated 


♦Schultz  was  upon  the  very  point  of  breaking  up  the  Altenstein  ministry,  and  of  being  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  departments  of  Church  and  Instruction  ;  the  necessary  cabinet  order  having 
been  made  out,  but  never  having  been  published.  He  was,  at  last,  removed  from  his  overseer- 
ship  by  a  cabinet  order,  dated  July  6,  1824. 

t  He  had  shown  himself  such  during  many  years'  most  benevolent  and  active  service  as  ad- 
ministrator of  the  school  at  Rosleben.  The  able  Rector  Wilhelm  remained  at  the  head  of  this 
school  for  fifty  years,  notwithstanding  many  honorable  invitations  elsewhere.  He  said  that  "  he 
could  not  find  a  WTitzleben  for  his  official  superior  anywhere  else."  ("  Golden  Jubilee  of  Rec- 
tor Wilhelm?   Weimar,  1836;  pp.  16,  17.) 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  139 

as  if  guilty.  To  remove  all  misunderstanding  and  distrust,  they  twice 
handed  in  to  the  authorities  fair  and  truly  written  reports  of  their 
doings.  They  did  this  voluntarily ;  and  had  no  difficulty  in  being 
public  in  doing  so,  because  they  were  conscious  of  no  fault. 

Among  those  who  often  visited  me  was  an  excellent  young  phy- 
sician, X.,  whose  strong  character  rendered  him  highly  esteemed  by 
his  acquaintances.  He  induced  them,  on  the  12th  of  January,  1821, 
to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  their  Burschenschaft. 
This  celebration  was  wholly  unpremeditated.  But  the  authorities  saw 
in  it,  not  a  memorial  of  a  suppressed  association,  but  that  very  associa- 
tion continuing  to  exist.  During  the  investigation  which  followed,  I 
drew  up  the  following  testimonial  for  X. : 

"  Testimonial  for  X.,  student  of  medicine,  on  occasion  of  his  receiving 
the  admonition  to  depart  (consilium  abeundi),  from  the  academical 
senate,  on  account  of  the  festival  of  January  12,  1821  [the  festival  of 
the  foundation  of  the  Burschenschaft  in  this  place). 

"I  have  been  acquainted  with  the  student  X.  for  more  than  a  year. 
He  has  visited  me  once  almost  every  week  since,  and  even  oftener ; 
and  has  spoken  with  me  frequently,  and  fully,  respecting  his  own  cir- 
cumstances as  a  student,  and  those  of  the  whole  body  of  students  ;  not 
as  to  a  superior,  but  as  to  an  old  friend.  He  had  no  reason  to  deceive 
me  in  any  thing,  and  I  am  firmly  convinced  that  he  would  have  been 
precisely  as  truthful  if  questioned  before  the  most  rigorous  judge. 

"  I  have,  in  particular,  spoken  often  with  him  respecting  the  Bursch- 
enschaft, of  which  he  was  a  member  during  its  existence.  I  know 
distinctly,  from  him,  that  he  adheres  strictly  to  the  word  of  honor 
which  he  gave,  not  to  re-establish  the  Burschenschaft,  nor  to  aid  in  so 
doing.  He,  and  many  of  like  views,  it  is  true,  lament  that  unhappy 
political  occurrences  should  have  caused  the  suppression  of  that  body. 
But  tnese  do  not  indulge  the  dream  that  they  are  fitted  to  exert  any 
influence  upon  civil  society.  How  little  X.,  in  particular,  concerned 
himself  with  politics,  is  indicated  by  a  remark  which  he  made  in  my 
presence,  that  he  was  too  busy  with  his  medical  studies  to  have  time 
to  read  the  newspapers. 

"  But  if  these  young  men,  while  fully  admitting  the  bad  tendencies  of 
a  portion  of  the  Burschenschaft,  desired  to  hold  fast  to  the  true  bene- 
fits which  had  resulted  from  it  in  the  universities,  can  they  be  blamed 
for  this  ?  But  when  ardent  love  of  truth,  chastity,  temperance,  patriot- 
ism, and  so  many  holy  Christian  virtues  have  sprung  up,  of  late,  in  the 
universities  ;  when  young  men  associate  together  in  order  to  confirm 
themselves  in  these  virtues,  and  when  they  do  every  thing  to  reform 


140  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

those  who  are  in  evil  ways,  in  that  case  those  universities  in  which  such 
a  spirit  prevails,  should  think  themselves  fortunate.  And  this  doubly, 
when  they  compare  this  spirit  with  that  formerly  prevailing,  of  disso- 
luteness, and  of  emulation  in  many  vices.  Nor  is  this  latter  spirit, 
unfortunately,  yet  extinguished ;  those  of  better  intentions  are  daily 
annoyed  by  their  attacks. 

"  I  know  how  much  X.  has  done  to  uphold  this  good  feeling,  and 
how  strenuously  he  resisted  those  evils.  The  best  swordsman  in  Halle, 
he  has  not  fought  one  duel,  but  has  adjusted  innumerable  misunder- 
standings. As  an  example  of  strict  morality,  he  was  superior  to  the 
rest.  In  originating  the  celebration  of  the  12th  of  January,  as  a  me- 
morial of  so  much  that  was  praiseworthy  in  the  designs  of  the  Bursch- 
enschaft,  his  purposes  were  pure ;  and  it  is  only  to  be  lamented  that  a 
false  construction  was  put  upon  youthful,  though  even  blamable 
carelessness. 

"  My  official  oath,  as  professor,  bound  me  '  to  use  all  my  exertions 
to  increase  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  safety  of  the  church,  and  of  the 
republic ;  to  lead  the  students  away  from  vice,  and  to  influence  them 
to  integrity  of  life  and  purity  of  manners.'  This  oath,  and  my  own 
impulses  oblige  me,  on  this  occasion,  to  speak  distinctly.  While  it  is, 
on  one  hand,  the  conscientious  and  official  duty  of  a  teacher  to  warn 
and  protect  young  men  from  the  vicious  errors  which  were  made  the 
cause  for  suppressing  the  Burschenschaft,  it  is  equally  his  sacred  duty 
to  protect  the  new  and  pure  influence — the  spirit  of  Christian  virtue — 
which  grew  up  with  the  Burschenschaft.  I  know  of  no  greater  fault 
with  which  an  instructor  of  youth  could  charge  himself,  than  that  of 
opposing  such  an  influence. 

"  I  call  my  oath  to  witness,  that  I  have  written  the  foregoing  accord- 
ing to  my  best  inward  conviction." 

In  the  academical  senate,  I  added  to  this  testimonial  the  following 
remarks  :  "  I  shall  add,  after  this  paper,  only  a  few  words.  Since*  writ- 
ing it,  I  have  had  additional  reason  for  believing  myself  right  in  the 
views  therein  expressed  respecting  the  condition  of  the  students.  The 
jurisprudence  of  the  university  seems  to  me  to  differ  from  that  of  the 
usual  courts,  especially  in  this :  that  in  its  decisions  it  may  not  only 
consider  each  case  by  itself,  and  compare  it  with  the  body  of  the  laws, 
but  more  especially  in  that  it  may  decide  according  to  a  personal 
knowledge  of  the  accused,  and  rather  on  moral  than  on  judicial 
grounds.  Thus,  for  the  same  act,  a  good-for-nothing  fellow  may  be 
treated  severely,  and  one  otherwise  of  good  reputation,  moderately.  The 
present  case  is  one  where  the  accused,  according  to  the  law,  by  the 
opinion  of  the  overseer  of  the  university,  should  be  acquitted.     Since 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  141 

they  are,  moreover,  known  to  be,  especially  the  medical  student  X., 
unblamable,  virtuous,  and  industrious  men,  there  is  double  reason, 
considering  the  case  as  one  of  discipline,  to  acquit  them." 

About  this  time  my  intercourse  with  the  students  seemed  worthy  of 
attention  in  high  quarters.  I  received  a  letter  from  the  Chancellor  of 
State,  Prince  Hardenberg,  in  which  he  spoke,  though  mildly,  yet  with 
displeasure,  of  my  relations  to  three  certain  young  men.     I  answered  : 

"  The  more  I  recognize  the  kindness  expressed  toward  me  in  your 
grace's  letter,  the  more  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  justify  against  misunder- 
standing, to  your  grace  as  my  immediate  superior,  my  civic  and 
official  life.  I  was  a  member  of  a  Turning  association,  when  it  was 
not  only  permitted,  but  favored  and  recommended  by  the  Prussian 
government  in  many  ways.  It  was  my  belief  that  in  this  I  not  only  was 
not  violating  my  official  duty,  but  was  doing  it  better  than  was  required. 

"  When,  some  two  years  ago,  I  expressed  my  profound  conviction 
of  the  great  value  of  the  Turning  system  for  youth,  in  a  printed  publi- 
cation, I  declared  myself,  at  the  same  time,  distinctly  opposed  to  any 
political  tendencies  in  it.  This  I  did  of  my  own  free  will,  under  no  in- 
fluence from  without;  and  I  spoke  accordingly  to  young  persons, 
against  any  premature  grasping  after  the  station  of  a  citizen. 

"Various  of  the  Turners  in  Breslau  were  also  my  scholars  in  miner- 
alogy ;  among  them  M.  and  W. 

"  When  these  two  were  subjected  to  an  investigation,  I  thought  it 
my  duty  to  warn  and  admonish  them,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  where 
they  were  in  fault ;  but  not  to  give  them  up ;  to  protect,  more  care- 
fully than  ever,  the  good  element  which  I  recognized  in  them.  I  con- 
sidered myself  their  teacher,  in  whom  they  placed  confidence,  not 
their  judge ;  as  bound  to  improve  and  instruct  them,  not  to  condemn 
them ;  and  I  was  the  less  ready  to  condemn  them,  because  I  had,  my- 
self, experienced  how  difficult  it  is,  in  a  season  of  excitement,  always 
to  act  prudently  and  moderately. 

"  A  year  ago  I  became  acquainted  with  L.,  in  Berlin.  I  found  out 
afterward,  to  my  sorrow,  that  he  had  certain  faults.  At  the  last  Whit- 
suntide vacation  he  made  a  short  trip  from  Jena,  and  came  to  Halle. 
I  conversed  with  him,  and  satisfied  myself  that  nothing  was  more  im- 
portant for  him  than  at  once  to  get  into  some  honorable  occupation, 
and  never  to  leave  it.  He  showed  a  particular  inclination  and  aptness 
for  land-surveying  and  engineering.  As  there  are  excellent  opportu- 
nities at  Dresden  to  study  these,  I  made  application  to  a  friend  there, 
to  learn  from  Ilerr  Fischer,  professor  at  the  Military  Academy,  what 
steps  a  young  man  should  take  in  order  to  be  admitted  to  instruction 
in  land-surveying,  what  expenses  would  be,  &c. 


142  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

"Your  grace  will  see,  from  this  correct  account,  how  far  I  have  been 
connected  with  L.  It  has  never  occurred  to  me  to  desire  to  bring  him 
under  my  influence,  as  a  teacher,  in  any  way.  This  would  have  been 
a  most  improper  design,  for  L.  was  by  no  means  a  suitable  person  for 
it,  and  I  am.'convinced  that  your  grace  will  certainly  never  blame  me 
for  having  endeavored  to  set  L.  in  a  way  to  cultivate  his  talents  to  his 
own  pleasure  and  quiet,  and  to  the  benefit  of  his  fatherland. 

"  It  is  a  cause  for  mourning  before  God,  that  a  large  part  of  our  youth 
are,  at  present,  in  an  unprecedented  misunderstanding  with  the  gen- 
eration preceding  them.  I  consider  it,  accordingly,  the  sacred  duty  of 
the  teacher,  whom  his  official  duties  bring  into  close  contact  with 
them,  to  treat  them  in  every  respect  paternally,  and  to  use  all  means 
of  restoring  a  good  understanding,  and  of  preparing  the  way  for  a 
pleasanter  future.  This  they  can  especially  do  by  having  regard  to 
the  peculiar  talent  of  each  young  man,  and  by  assisting,  with  counsel 
and  action,  in  cultivating  it,  and  thus  helping  to  educate  men  who 
will  be  both  skilled  and  satisfied  in  their  destined  sphere  of  life. 

"  I  have  endeavored,  according  to  my  powers,  to  contribute  my  mite 
toward  this  object. 

M  Thus  your  grace  will  not  misunderstand  my  intercourse  and  cor- 
respondence with  young  men  accused ;  since  it  is  the  endeavor  to 
fulfill  my  duty  as  an  instructor  of  youth,  that  has  been  the  occasion 
of  them. 

"I  am,  of  myself,  most  decidedly  opposed  to  political  revolutions, 
and  an  adherent  to  what  promises  real  and  enduring  peace,  and  all  the 
benefits  of  prosperous  times.  I  feel  myself  happy  in  my  sphere  of  life; 
why  should  I  not  abhor  all  violence  and  destruction,  an4  desire  calm 
and  peaceful  progress  ? 

"I  would  gladly  acquaint  your  grace  with  the  experiences  which 
have  been  occasioned  me  by  means  of  the  full  confidence  which  has 
been  reposed  in  me  by  those  young  men  who  have  been  accused.  I 
would  gladly,  as  their  advocate,  produce  the  conviction  that,  notwith- 
standing the  undeniable  improprieties  and  unjustifiable  views  which 
they  have,  youth-like,  thoughtlessly  written,  still  they  are  so  disposed 
that  they  would  gladly  ofTer  up  their  lives  for  king  and  fatherland, 
should  a  second  year  1813  require  that  highest  evidence  of  their 
truth. 

"  I  most  humbly  request  your  grace  to  receive  this  letter  with  favor, 
and  remain,  <fcc,  Von  Raumer." 

The  unhappy  impression  now  gained  ground  among  the  students, 
that,  notwithstanding  all  their  propriety  of  conduct,  no  confidence 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  143 

whatever  was  placed  in  them.  It  was  easy  to  foresee  the  unhappy  conse- 
quences which  must,  of  necessity,  sooner  or  later,  arise  from  this  opin- 
ion. Want  of  confidence,  on  the  part  of  the  government  overseer  and 
the  senate,  produced  the  like  on  the  part  of  the  students.  There 
would  be  an  end  of  all  good  influence  by  the  former  on  £he  latter,  if 
the  breach  between  them  should  widen.  Every  thing  was  to  be 
feared,  should  the  students  be  driven  from  their  previous  openness 
and  truthfulness  to  secresy  and  lies.  I  was  in  great  trouble  on  this 
account.  Under  these  circumstances,  there  came  into  my  hands  the 
Tubingen  "  Statutes  for  forming  a  Students'  Committee,"*  which  were 
sanctioned  by  a  royal  ordinance  of  January  2,  1821,  and  whose  con- 
tents are  given  by  Klupfel.  I  conceived  the  hope,  that  by  means  of 
a  similar'  committee,  the  open  and  proper  conduct  of  the  students 
at  Halle  might  be  maintained,  and  unhappy  secret  doings  avoided. 

To  this  end  I  drew  up  the  following  paper,  to  be  read  at  the  session 
of  the  senate,  on  January  5,  1822  :f 

"  It  is  to  be  considered  what  are  the  best  means  of  healing  the  evil 
of  associations  among  the  students,  which  are  more  strictly  prohibited 
than  ever  by  government. 

"  It  cannot  naturally  be  required  that  each  student  shall  live  en- 
tirely isolated  in  his  room,  like  a  monk  in  his  cell.  He  will  associate 
with  congenial  friends;  and  one  will  have  many,  and  another  few. 
Indeed  it  would  be  a  sad  mark  of  entire  lack  of  friendly  feelings,  if 
none  should  inquire  about  another,  and  therefore  it  cannot  be  the  de- 
sign of  the  government  to  put  an  end  to  social  friendship.  This  was 
intended  only  of  all  formal  (or  prohibited)  associations,  which  are  very 
different  from  informal  social  intercourse.  From  such  prohibited  asso- 
ciations, many  of  the  students  here  are  entirely  disjoined,  though  they 
have,  against  their  wills  and  contrary  to  truth,  often  been  included  in 
the  appellation  of  Burschenschaft.  They  have  no  constitution,  no 
officers;  nothing  is  said  among  them  of  commanding  or  obeying. 
They  have  so  little  of  secresy,  that  they  have,  entirely  of  their  own  free 
will,'  twice  drawn  up  a  complete  account  of  their  modes  of  life  and 
doings,  and  handed  it  in  to  the  curator.  That  mode  of  life— as,  in- 
deed' was  to  have  been  expected  from  his  character— received  his 
friendly  approbation,  as  regards  its  morals.  It  was  the  just  confidence 
in  their  good  intentions,  which  they  saw  to  be  felt  by  a  high  official, 
which  occasioned  this  course.     But  if  this  confidence  of  theirs  has  not 


*  P.  318,  &c.     See  Appendix  VIII.     A  ministerial  decree,  of  Nov.  SO,  1S20,  had  already 
stated  that  the  king  was  not  opposed  to  snch  a  committee. 

!  Some  less  important  portions  are  omitted,  but  what  is  left  is  given  verbatim. 


144  THE    GERMAN   UNIVERSITIES. 

caused  a  corresponding  one,  and  if  there  yet  prevails  an  apprehension 
that  present  circumstances  may  secretly  bring  about  an  entirely  differ- 
ent formal  association,  I  know  of  only  one  means  of  relieving  this 
apprehension — which  I  have  already  referred  to. 

"We  all  know  that  the  most  watchful  police  cannot  entirely  discover 
the  schemes  and  views  of  the  students,  if  they  resort  to  falsehood  and 
deceit.  Something  may  occasionally  come  to  light,  and  one  or  another 
individual  may  be  punished;  but  to  what  end?  Punishment  may  be 
inflicted  to-day,  but  the  hydra  head  grows  again  to-morrow. 

"  May  God  preserve  those  students,  who  presented  the  writing  I  have 
cited,  from  giving  up  their  confidence  and  love  of  truth,  and  from  ad- 
dicting themselves  to  secresy  and  falsehood !  And,  above  all,  may 
God  prevent  the  honorable  senate  from  becoming  the  cause  of  such  a 
revolution !     What  excuse  could  be  made  for  such  a  result? 

"But  to  prevent  this  result,  I  can,  as  I  have  said,  see  only  one 
means.  Instead  of  ourselves  destroying  the  confidence  in  us  of  the 
young  men,  by  police  regulations — by  the  establishment  of  a  com- 
pletely police-like  relation  between  ourselves  and  them — instead  of  de- 
pending upon  shrewdness  as  police-officers,  which  cannot  accomplish 
our  objects,  we  ought,  according  to  my  opinion  and  experience,  to  repay 
their  confidence  with  a  full  return  of  it.  A  full  return,  I  say,  for  half 
confidence  is  no  confidence.  We  should  soon  see  with  what  sin- 
cerity of  heart,  how  freely  and  openly,  the  students  would  respond 
to  such  treatment.  Above  all,  it  would  then  be  in  our  power  to 
counteract  all  erroneous  tendencies  in  them,  because  we  should  know 
them  thoroughly ;  and  all  the  phantoms  which  terrify  us  in  the 
dark,  would  disappear  in  the  bright  daylight  of  such  a  condition  of 
things. 

"  Such  a  clear  and  open  relation  between  ourselves  and  the  students 
can,  in  my  judgment,  not  be  more  beneficently  and  honorably  brought 
about  than  has  been  done  by  his  majesty,  the  King  of  Wurtemberg, 
by  an  ordinance  to  the  university  of  Tubingen,  of  the  2d  January  of 
last  year.  This  enacted  that  the  students  should  choose,  from  among 
themselves,  fifteen  persons,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  communicate 
the  wishes  of  the  senate  to  the  rest  of  the  students,  and  to  assist  in 
accomplishing  the  same.  This  committee  is  also  empowered  to  bring 
before  the  senate  the  wishes  of  the  body  of  students.  Each  member 
of  this  committee  is  bound,  by  section  27  of  the  ordinance,  to  warn 
his  fellow-students  against  every  secret  association,  or  one  shunning 
publicity,  and  so  far  as  in  him  lies,  to  exert  his  influence  to  deter  them 
from  joining  any  such.  I  refrain  from  giving  here  any  details  of  this 
excellent  ordinance,  inasmuch  as  I  venture  to  submit  a  copy  of  it  to 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  145 

be  examined  by  my  colleagues;  and  only  observe  that  I  have  good  in- 
formation that  the  university  of  Tubingen  already  experiences  good 
results  from  this  ordinance.  Von  Raumer. 

"  Giebichenstein,  Jan.  6,  1822." 

Unless  I  am  mistaken,  there  is  but  one  man  now  living  who  was 
present  at  the  sitting  where  this  proposition  was  read,  namely,  my 
friend  Prof.  Schweigger.  He  will  remember  in  how  incredibly  tumul- 
tuous a  manner  my  reading  was  interrupted.  He  repeatedly  begged 
that  I  might  at  least  be  allowed  to  read  to  the  end.  I  can  not,  after 
thirty  years,  trace  this  opposition  to  individuals.  But  I  remember 
vividly  how  some  protested  most  strenuously  against  this  Students' 
Committee,  as  if  it  would  be  a  profound  injury  to  their  official  dignity, 
and  to  their  relations  with  the  students ;  and  how  others  exclaimed 
that  they  were  not  in  the  habit  of  learning  from  the  Wiirtembergers 
how  the  students  were  to  be  managed,  and  so  on.  As  this  opposition 
was  so  violent  that  I  was  actually  unable  to  read  to  the  end,  I  sent  the 
paper  next  day  to  Royal  Commissioner  von  Witzleben,  writing  to  him 
at  the  same  time  as  follows  : 

"  I  take  the  liberty  to  send  your  excellency  my  proposition  of  yes- 
terday in  the  senate.  Its  design  was  to  acquaint  that  body  with  the 
Wiirtemberg  ordinance,  with  which  your  excellency  is  familiar, 
wrote  it  down,  because,  in  case  of  certain  occurrences,  I  will  adhere  to 
it,  word  for  word,  and  neither  more  nor  less.  My  official  duty  forbids 
me  to  conceal  my  honest  convictions.  Accordingly,  I  was  yesterday 
desirous  of  expressing  my  conviction  that  nothing  of  the  nature  of 
police  regulations  would  succeed  in  the  case  then  in  hand,  but  that 
paternal  and  confiding  measures,  like  that  of  Wiirtemberg,  would  be 
of  incalculable  service.  Many  of  my  colleagues  agree  with  my  views 
respecting  police  measures. 

"I  am  sufficiently  acquainted  with  your  excellency's  views  to  know 
that  your  own  feelings  prefer  a  paternal,  rather  than  a  police-like  mode 
of  administration  ;  I  hope  that  you  may  not  be  prevented  from  acting 
in  accordance  with  those  feelings.  Von  Raumer." 

I  now  saw  the  evil  daily  coming  nearer,  and  was  convinced  that  no 
help  was  to  be  looked  for  from  the  senate.  Every  day  the  ill  feeling 
of  the  students  increased,  and  was  especially  stimulated  by  some  young 
men  of  talent,  who,  about  that  time,  came  from  Jena  to  Halle.  These 
individuals  used  every  influence  to  induce  the  dissatisfied  to  join  a  se- 
cret Burschenschaft  which  they  had  founded  at  Jena.    One,  named  C. 

No.  17.— [Vol.  VI.,  No.  2.]— 10*       10 


146  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

was  particularly  active,  advocating  the  establishment  of  such  a  Bursch- 
enschaft  with  the  utmost  eloquence  and  sophistry.  He  unfortunately 
found  the  ground  so  well  prepared  during  two  years,  that  the  seed 
sown  by  him  and  his  fellows  quickly  sprang  up  and  grew.  C.  after- 
ward confessed  before  a  court,  that  "his  exertions,  during  his  stay  at 
Halle,  were  intended  to  establish  there,  also,  the  secret  Burschenschaft, 
and  to  propagate  among  its  members  the  political  views  of  the  organi- 
zation at  Jena."  *  He  avowed  that  he,  with  three  others,  had  "  earn- 
estly endeavored  to  re-establish,  among  the  partisans  of  the  Burschen- 
schaft in  Halle,  that  organization,  dissolved  by  the  authorities."  lie 
declared,  in  so  many  words,  that  "  the  step  from  this  Burschenschaft 
to  our  smaller  political  association  was  not  difficult,  as  the  members  of 
the  former,  by  having  broken  their  word  of  honor,  given  to  the  au- 
thorities, were  thus  placed  in  opposition  to  them,  and  also  to  the 
existing  government." 

I  became  acquainted  with  C.  Without  (as  will  easily  be  conceived) 
introducing  me  to  his  demagogical  plans  and  endeavors,  he  made  no 
secret  of  his  theory.  This  was,  in  truth,  exceedingly  radical,  although 
he  was  under  the  delusion  that  it  was  based  upon  the  most  correct 
moral  principles.  The  Burschenschaft,  for  instance,  he  said,  aimed  at 
the  purest  morality  in  life ;  the  governments  which  had  broken  it  up 
had,  therefore,  put  themselves  in  direct  opposition  to  the  purest 
morality ;  and,  therefore,  there  remained  no  other  course  for  young 
men  than  to  obey  God  rather  than  man,  and  to  take  an  active  part  for 
morality. 

He  also  cited  political  reasons ;  and  especially  the  fact,  that  the  well- 
known  thirteenth  article  agreed  on  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna  had  not 
been  carried  into  operation  by  Prussia  and  other  governments. 

C,  whom  I  loved  much,  and  who  has  long  ago  escaped  from  the  errors 
of  his  youth,  and  who  is  a  very  useful  man,  will  remember  well  how  I 
discussed  all  these  matters  with  him.  An  enemy  to  sophistry  and 
dialectic  fencing,  I  adhered  to  the  Christian  code  of  morals,  which  had 
always,  from  my  youth,  been  to  me  holy  and  perfect;  rejected  all 
Jesuitism,  and  enforced  strongly  this  principle :  that  the  holy  God 
would  never  require  us  to  assist  in  supporting  and  extending  his  king- 
dom by  unholy  and  wicked  means.  The  unhappy  consequences  of 
Sand's  action  were  also  placed  in  a  strong  light  before  his  eyes. 

A  strife  now  arose  between  those  who,  led  away  by  this  newly  dis- 
covered code  of  morals,  which  appeared  to  them  of  supreme  authority, 


*  '•'■Information  against  the  Members  of  the  so-called  Youth's  Union"  (Jugendbund) 
nalle.    1S26.    P.  49. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  147 

advocated  joining  the  secret  Burschenschaft  and  the  "Young  Men's 
Union,"  and  those  who,  restrained  by  the  word  of  honor  which  they 
had  given,  opposed  such  adhesion.  The  latter  were  overcome.  The 
"Young  Men's  Union"  was  the  chief  temptation  to  them,  and  with  its 
foundation  a  new  period  may  be  commenced  ;  the  previous  one  having 
been  distinguished  by  the  association  of  the  "Unconditionals."  But 
Karl  Follenius  had  now  also  a  hand  in  the  game. 

The  detailed  history  of  the  "Young  Men's  Union"  is  given  in  the 
"Information"  already  quoted,  by  the  Royal  High  Court  of  Breslau.* 
I  shall  refer  the  reader  to  this ;  and  shall  here  only  give  the  following 
sketch : 

A  student  of  Jena  became  acquainted,  in  1821,  in  Switzerland,  with 
Karl  Follenius  and  two  other  men,  who  confided  to  him  the  statement 
that  "  there  was  to  be  formed  an  association,  among  men  already  living 
in  civic  stations,  for  the  purpose  of  overthrowing  the  existing  govern- 
ments ;  and  that  it  was  desirable  that  a  similar  association  should  be 
formed  among  young  men."  They  proceeded  to  request  the  student 
to  found  such  an  association.  He  entered  into  the  plan,  and  labored 
at  Zurich,  Basle,  Freiburg,  Tubingen,  Erlangen,  and  Jena,  in  behalf  ot 
the  society  ;  at  all  which  places,  as  well  as  at  Halle,  Leipzig,  Gottin- 
gen,  Wiirzburg,  and  Heidelberg,  there  were  members  as  early  as  the 
summer  of  1821.  During  1821,  1822,  and  1823,  several  other  sec- 
tions of  it  were  established,  consisting  mostly,  however,  of  only  a  few 
persons;  and  in  all  of  them,  so  far  as  has  been  reported,  great  con- 
fusion and  perplexity  of  ideas  prevailed,  no  one  knowing  exactly  what 
he  wanted. 

Many  were,  probably,  induced  to  join  the  "  Young  Men's  Union" 
by  the  compliment  to  their  vanity  implied  in  the  immediate  connec 
tion  with  the  secret  league  of  men,  from  which  was  expected  a  tre- 
mendous revolution  tending  to  the  improvement  and  renovation   of 
Germany,  and,  perhaps,  even  of  all  Europe. 

But  they  were  startlingly  undeceived  by  discovering,  with  certainty, 
that  no  such  association  of*  men  existed.  Part  of  them  thereupon  de- 
clared, that  under  these  circumstances,  the  "  Young  Men's  Union" 
was  without  any  basis;  and  that  it  must,  therefore,  be  dissolved.  A 
majority,  however,  decided  to  continue  their  exertions  more  strenu 
ously  than  ever,  since  the  renovation  of  Germany  must  rest  with  them 
alone. 

Thus,  the  phantasmal  existence  of  the  Union  continued  ;  it  could 
neither  live  nor  die.     "It  is  clear,"  says  the  "Information"  "that  we 

*  This  work  was  printed  by  C.  Anton,  with  the  express  permission  of  the  Royal  Prussian 
Ministries  of  religion,  instruction,  and  medicine.     Halle,  1S26. 


148  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

can  not  discuss  an  actual  organization  of  the  'Young  Men's  Union;' 
and  that  it  would  be  in  vain  to  attempt  to  follow  up  single  ramifica- 
tions of  it  to  their  origins,  which  were  often  accidental.  We  must 
rather  treat  of  repeated  attempts  to  accomplish  an  organization." 

As  the  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  "Young  Men's  Union"  in  Halle  grew 
more  and  more  efficient,  they  had  an  influence,  most  painful  to  me, 
upon  my  relations  with  the  students.  Whereas,  they  had  previously 
been  entirely  open  with  me,  and  had  conversed  with  me  frankly  re- 
specting their  lives,  I  could  not  but  very  soon  observe  that  they  were 
infected  with  wretched  and  foolish  secrets  and  schemes.  They  could 
not  communicate  these  to  me,  for  they  knew  too  well  what  were  my 
opinions  on  them.  I  afterward  found  that,  out  of  the  most  friendly 
feelings  toward  me,  they  had  been  entirety  silent  on  these  points,  in 
order  that  no  suspicion  of  participation  might  attach  to  me  in  case  of 
any  investigations.  But  this  very  silence  sufficiently  indicated  to  me 
that  the  young  men,  previously  so  firm  in  their  honesty,  were  in  great 
danger  of  being  betrayed  into  secret,  dishonest,  and  unlawful  schemes. 
I  felt  myself  necessitated  to  warn  them  once  more,  in  a  paternal  man- 
ner, as  clearly  and  distinctly  as  possible;  and  accordingly  addressed 
to  them  all,  in  the  year  1822,  the  following  admonitory  letter: 

"  On  the  Re-establishment  of  the  Burschenschaft. 

"  I  do  not  believe  that  the  formal  reorganization  of  the  Burschen- 
schaft by  the  students,  in  spite  of  their  word  of  honor,  and  contrary  to 
law,  is  to  be  apprehended  ;  for,  as  the  university  overseer  testifies, 
they  speak  the  truth.  Upon  the  dissolution  of  the  Jena  Burschen- 
schaft, they  wrote  to  the  Grand  Duke  of  Weimar,  'It  was  the  will  of 
your  Royal  Highness  that  the  Burschenschaft  be  dissolved.  That  will 
has  been  carried  into  effect.  We  hereby  declare,  solemnly  and  pub- 
licly, that  we  have  paid  strict  obedience  to  the  command,  and  have, 
ourselves,  dissolved  our  association,  as  was  ordered,'  &c.,  <fcc. 

"  In  my  judgement,  these  words  express  the  true  spirit  of  the  Bursch- 
enschaft— open,  true,  and  honorable.  Every  association  which  consti- 
tutes itself  secretly,  against  the  law  and  their  word  of  honor,  stands  in 
direct  opposition  to  this  true  spirit  of  the  late  Burschenschaft ;  and 
ought  not,  in  my  opinion,  to  be  considered  as  an  association  of  the 
class  of  that  one,  notwithstanding  it  may  adopt  its  watchwords,  colors, 
and  all  other  externals. 

"  Such  were  my  expressions  to  the  academical  senate  in  relation  to 
the  festival  of  January  12,  1821.  May  I  never  be  obliged  to  give  up 
the  good  opiuion  which  I  entertained  when  writing  it. 

"  I  still  can  not  fear  that  any  formal  reorganization  of  the  Burschen- 


THE    GERMAN     UNIVERSITIES.  149 

scliaft,  contrary  to  the  word  of  honor  given,  and  in  contempt  of  the 
law,  will  take  place.     Who  would  advocate  it  ] 

"  Suppose  it  should  be  said,  '  You  know  the  excellent  purposes  of 
the  Burschenschaft ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  attain  them  without  the 
formal  re-establishment  of  that  body.  Without  a  formal  organization 
and  establishment  it  will  be  impossible  for  us  to  hold  together  the 
students,  and  to  lead  them  toward  a  common  purpose.' 

"To  this  I  would  reply :  I  ought  not,  strictly,  to  answer  you  at  all, 
for  you  are  seeking  to  cause  a  breaking  of  the  law,  and  of  the  word  of 
honor.  Do  you  propose  to  defend  this  violation  of  law  by  claiming 
that  the  government  has,  on  its  part,  destroyed  the  just  condition  ot 
affairs  by  its  own  injustice,  and  that,  therefore,  you  feel  yourself  not 
bound  by  the  law  ?  How  dare  you  say  that  law  and  right  have  not 
been  violated  by  the  young  men  themselves  ;  and  that,  therefore,  law 
and  justice  toward  them  are  taken  away  ?  Have  you  forgotten  Sand, 
and  so  many  circumstances  connected  with  him  ? 

"  But,  even  if  injustice  has  been  committed,  dare  you,  for  that  reason, 
declare  yourself  free  from  all  civil  obligations  ?  Was  Socrates,  then, 
in  your  opinion,  a  fool,  because  he  drank  the  poison  unjustly  tendered 
him,  rather  than  to  flee  ?  Follow  no  principle  which  you  cau  not  wish 
all  the  world  to  follow.  Try  every  Christian  commandment  by  this 
rule,  and  you  will  feel  that  the  world  would  be  happy  if  all  should 
obey  it.  But  if  all  were  to  cast  loose  from  the  State  on  this  principle 
of  yours — for  when  the  government  is  unjust  to  one  it  endangers  all — 
there  would  at  once  result  a  most  fearful  dissolution  of  all  social  bonds, 
a  most  terrific  and  bloody  revolution.  All  the  visionary  and  unbridled 
powers  and  passions  of  our  nature  would  awake  ;  hatred,  envy,  revenge, 
pride,  ambition ;  the  devil  would  stir  up  wicked  hopes,  and  vain  confi- 
dence in  mere  strength ;  and  holy  love  would  disappear  in  the  waste 
abyss.  Do  you  consider  yourself  powerful  enough  in  intellect  to  quiet, 
guide,  and  rule  these  excited  and  rude  powers  and  masses  ?  Will  you,  a 
teacher  and  establisher  of  revolution,  establish  and  maintain  order  ? 
Beware  of  throwing  out  partial  and  frivolous  words,  which,  as  stimulants 
in  real  life,  may  become  sad  seeds  of  incalculable  misery.  Woe  to  you 
if  you  fool  weak  minds,  and  lead  them  astray  with  such  words  !  And 
with  this  breach  of  law,  the  breach  of  word  goes  hand  in  hand.  '  One. 
word,  one  word — one  man,  one  man,'  our  ancestors  said.  But,  do  you 
propose  to  begin  th«  establishment  of  the  German  Burschenschaft  by 
the  violation  of  this  truly  German  motto,  and  then  to  sing  to  your 
4  Union,'  'The  world  itself  must  pass  away,  and  so  the  ancient  proverb 
must?'  Would  you,  Jesuitically,  shelter  yourself  by  that  abominable 
principle  that  'The  end  sanctifies  the  means?'    In  this  direction  points 


150  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

the  cunning  requirement,  that  we  shall  give  up  our  healthy,  simple 
moral  instincts,  aud,  instead  of  them,  set  up  principles  which  an  honest 
heart  can  not  comprehend.  And  let  us  consider  more  closely  that 
purpose  of  the  Christian  German  Burschenschaft  which  is  to  sanctify 
these  means.  Was  it  not  this,  that  the  members  were  to  live  a  com- 
mon, free,  open,  true,  pure,  and  affectionate  life  ?  And  is  the  first  step 
toward  the  accomplishment  of  that  end,  to  be  a  breaking  of  the  word  of 
honor,  and  of  the  law?  Have  you,  like  the  most  unprincipled  diplo- 
matists, the  greater  morals  and  the  lesser  morals  :  the  latter — Christian 
morality — for  every-day  life,  and  the  former,  the  greater — devilish 
morality — for  extraordinary  occasions,  which  require  lying  and  deceit  ? 
Are  breach  of  one's  word,  and  of  the  law  to  be  the  consecrating  cere- 
mony at  the  entrance  into  the  Burschenschaft?  And  must  all  the 
members  live  secretly,  afraid  every  moment  of  being  brought  to  an 
account,  and  contriving  pettifogging  shifts  and  tricks  to  get  off  with 
in  case  of  need  ?  What  becomes  of  the  simple  innocence  of  an  open 
and  pure  youthful  life,  with  a  good  conscience,  in  whose  place  appears 
this  concealed,  secret,  and  light-shunning  life  ?  Are  the  young  to  train 
themselves,  by  such  a  course  of  life,  into  free  Christian  citizens  ?  It  is 
impossible. 

"  And  however  shrewdly  all  of  your  arrangements  may  have  been 
made,  however  cunningly  you  calculate,  be  sure  that  good  German 
honesty  is  best,  and  will  always  be  best.  Honesty  stands  longest. 
Arndt's  verses  are  true  of  the  German  youth : 

11  '  Trust  thou  not  to  a  fair  outside, 

Lies  and  cheats  thou  canst  not  guide. 
Arts  and  tricks  will  fail  with  thee, 
Thy  cunning,  shallowest  phantasy.' 

"  And  in  like  manner  will  fail  this  trickish  and  secretly  constituted 
Burschenschaft.  It  will  soon  be  discovered,  and  broken  up  by  ex- 
pulsions. 

"  For  these  reasons  I  consider  that,  at  present,  the  formal  reorgani- 
zation of  the  Christian  German  Burschenschaft  would  be  a  violation  of 
law,  and  of  the  word  of  honor;  unchristian,  un-German,  unwise. 

"But  is  our  youth  so  superannuated  that  it  can  not  exist  without  a 
fixed  form,  without  adherence  to  a  letter  ?  No  law  prevents  you  from 
living  and  laboring  as  friends  in  life  and  death,  for  the  noblest  of 
human  purposes — for  a  free  Christian  intercourse.  Must  friendship  be 
replaced  by  mere  verbal  fastenings,  and  a  living  intellectual  tie  by  a 
lawyer's  paper  one  ?  Must  that  mental  power  by  which  the  better  or 
more  intelligent  man  influences  his  brother  in  God's  name,  be  assured 
to  him  by  a  constitution  ? 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  1  O  1 

"  But  if  there  are  only  a  few  individuals  who  are  constituted  capable 
of  a  profound  and  close  association  in  life  through  love,  it  is  better  that 
these  few  should  hold  themselves  purely  and  truly  together,  in  inde- 
pendent friendship,  than  that  efforts  should  be  made  to  hold  together, 
by  prohibited  ties,  a  great  number  of  repugnant  persons,  and  that  the 
purpose  should,  at  last,  utterly  fail.  Woe  to  us,  when  our  youth, 
even,  shall  be  given  over  and  consecrated  to  lovelessness ;  woe  to  youths 
who  imagine  that  they  can  attain  freedom  by  using  their  brethren 
wickedly  and  tyrannically,  as  blind  tools !  Oh,  that  our  youth  would 
purify  themselves  from  every  evil  means,  from  every  impure  purpose ; 
with  a  good  conscience  confess,  before  all  the  world,  the  good  purpose 
at  which  they  aim,  and  openly  and  freely  demand  from  their  instruct- 
ors and  officers,  recognition  and  assistance  in  their  truly  holy  endeavor  ! 
Who  would  dare  oppose  young  men  avowing  their  object  to  be  a  pure, 
active,  loving  life  ?  Who  can  harm  you  if  you  do  good  ?  Oh,  that 
Luther's  free,  and  vehement,  and  powerful  spirit  could  be  a  pattern  for 
the  German  youth ;  that  spirit  which  despised  all  low,  stealthy,  secret 
tricks  and  practices,  and  through  divine  and  open  confidence  in  itself, 
was  unconquerable  and  irresistible  !" 

I  was  soon  convinced  that  my  appeal  could  not  resist  the  force  of 
the  influence  at  work  on  the  students.  All  confidence  in  the  authori- 
ties was  entirely  at  an  end;  for  the  students  had  experienced  from 
them  opposition,  not  assistance;  and  the  opinion  prevailed,  that  in 
order  to  realize  the  ideal  of  the  Burschenschaft,  it  would  be  necessary 
no  longer  to  co-operate  with  the  authorities,  but  to  oppose  them ;  and 
that,  on  radical  political  principles,  whatever  stood  in  the  way  of  that 
ideal  must  be  removed.  It  was  fancied  that  the  "  Young  Men's  Union" 
would  lift  the  world  to  the  condition  of  the  angels. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Union  was  actually  a  nonentity.  It  was  a 
fit  subject  for  Aristophanes.  But  the  times  were  too  bitterly  in  earnest 
for  this ;  and  irritable  and  wicked  consciences  could  neither  understand 
nor  endure  any  sport.  The  Union  came  to  a  tragical  end.  I  had  fore- 
told, in  my  admonition,  that  if  the  prohibited  Burschenschaft  should 
be  reorganized,  it  would  soon  be  discovered,  and  broken  up  by  expul- 
sions. But  the  "Young  Men's  Union,"  in  thinking  to  surpass  the 
morality  and  lawfulness  of  the  original  Burschenschaft,  foolishly  passed 
beyond  the  sphere  of  its  activity  among  young  men,  and  attempted  to 
interfere  with  the  relations  of  actual  life,  of  which  it  knew  nothing, 
and  which  it  was  far  from  being  competent  to  regulate  or  to  change. 
Thus  it  happened  that  its  members  had  to  do,  not  with  the  paternal 
academical  disciplinary  court  and  the  academical  penalties,  but  with  a 
criminal  court  and  its  severe  sentence ;  that  they  were  measured  with 


152  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

the  measure  of  the  government,  the  existing  state  of  which  they  had 
permitted  themselves  to  attack.  On  the  25th  of  March,  1826,  the 
High  Court  of  Breslau  passed  sentence  upon  twenty-eight  members  of 
the  Union,  all  of  whom,  except  a  few,  were  condemned  to  from  two  to 
fifteen  years'  imprisonment.* 

This  was  the  tragic  end  of  the  "  Young  Men's  Union." 

In  1822  my  stay  at  Halle  became  unendurably  painful  to  me.  I 
still  saw  the  same  students  whom  I  loved  so  well,  but  yet  they  were 
changed.  I  afterward  found  the  names  of  twelve  of  them  in  the  list  of 
those  condemned  as  just  mentioned. 

There  was  also  a  second  reason,  which  had  long  annoyed  me.  I 
had  been  begging  for  three  years  that  a  collection  of  minerals  might 
be  purchased  for  the  university,  as  the  existing  one  did  not  at  all  fulfill 
the  purposes  of  instruction.  My  request  not  being  complied  with,  it 
was  impossible  for  me  to  properly  perform  my  duty  as  professor  of 
mineralogy. 

During  this  period  of  great  uneasiness,  my  friend  Rector  Dittmar, 
while  on  a  visit  to  me  from  Nuremberg,  at  Easter,  1822,  invited  me 
to  take  partial  charge  of  his  institution  at  that  city.  In  October  fol- 
lowing I  went  to  Nuremberg,  examined  the  school,  and  consented. 
On  returning  to  Halle,  I  applied  to  the  two  ministries  under  which  I 
wras  an  official — as  mining  councilor  and  as  professor — for  a  dismis- 
sion. I  desire  to  commemorate  the  friendly  manner  in  which  the  two 
ministers,  Schuckmann  and  Altenstein,  returned  me  my  request,  and 
advised  me  to  recall  my  decision.  But  I  had  taken  my  resolution 
too  firmly,  and  repeated  my  application.  I  received,  May  30,  1823, 
through  the  ministry,  the  royal  cabinet  order  which  dismissed  me. 
"In  consequence,"  said  the  accompanying  letter  from  the  ministries, 
"the  undersigned  ministries  do  free  you  from  your  official  duties,  both 
in  the  university  at  Halle,  and  in  the  High  Council  of  Mining,  with 
thanks  for  your  exertions  there,  and  with  the  best  wishes  for  your 
future  prosperity." 

I  left  Halle  with  very  sad  feelings.  It  was  as  if  I  were  bearing  to 
the  grave  all  the  wishes  and  hopes  that  I  had  nourished  for  ten  years, 
ever  since  the  year  1813,  and  for  whose  accomplishment  I  had  fought 
and  labored. 


*Ten  of  thein  were  imprisoned  for  fifteen  years.  Most  of  the  twenty-eight  were  Prussians, 
but  many  other  members  were  punished  elsewhere.  Most  of  them  were,  however,  pardoned 
before  the  end  of  their  term. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  153 


CONCLUSION 


The  narration  of  our  past  experiences  completely  carries  us  back  to 
time  past,  and  so  identifies  us  again  with  them,  that  we  involuntarily 
wrrite  with  affectionate  interest  of  things  which  were  so  interesting  to 
us.  And  although  many  things  appear  different  to  us  in  the  course 
of  time,  yet  we  are  unwilling  to  be  too  careful,  and  to  weaken  our  de- 
lineation by  subsequent  criticisms.  We  may  even,  as  Solomon  admon- 
ishes, become  incorrect  by  striving  to  be  too  much  so.  And  it  is 
equally  improper  to  measure  the  past  by  the  measure  of  the  present 
— which  was  not  then  known  nor  applied — without  reference  to  time 
and  circumstances. 

A  reference  to  the  eminent  and  long-continued  usefulness  of  Schleier- 
macher  will  well  illustrate  this  point.  How  many  have  thanked  him 
for  having  first  awakened  them,  at  a  time  when  they  were  sunken  in  a 
stupefying  slumber  under  the  poisonous  influence  of  the  vapors  which 
arose  from  the  dead  sea  of  nationalism !  And  this,  too,  notwithstand- 
ing that  subsequently  a  still  deeper  need  separated  them  from  him,  to 
seek  instruction  and  faith  in  eternal  life  from  other  preachers.  Like 
them,  I  am  grateful  for  the  influence  which  Schleiermacher  exerted 
upon  me,  although  I  afterward  became  unable  to  agree  with  his  theo- 
logical views. 

It  is  not  in  the  least  my  intention  to  defend  all  that  I  have  related 
of  myself,  especially  during  my  student  life.  I  did  not  think  it  neces- 
sary to  warn  my  reader,  as  he  can  become  sufficiently  acquainted  with 
me,  and  with  my  views  of  Christianity,  from  this  book. 

My  narrative  ends  with  the  year  1823,  after  which  time  I  was  for 
four  years  not  at  any  university,  and,  accordingly,  the  concerns  of 
those  were  out  of  my  sight.  When  I  was  appointed  at  Eilangen  in 
1827,  I  found  every  thing  very  different  from  the  north  German  uni- 
versities, and  every  thing  seemed  to  me  to  have  changed. 

The  statements  which  follow  are  mostly  derived  from  my  experience 
during  the  twenty-seven  years  of  my  professorship  at  Erlangen.  They 
relate  chiefly  to  academical  subjects,  which  have  been  much  discussed 
within  the  last  ten  years,  and  upon  which  views  and  opinions  have 
been  very  various. 

I  have  stated  my  own  beliefs  as  unequivocally,  clearly,  and  defi- 
nitely as  I  could,  with  the  design  of  making  both  agreement  and  dis- 
agreement more  easy ;  and  not  at  all  from  any  dogmatic  assumption. 


II.    APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX 


DOCUMENTS  ILLUSTRATIVE  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  GERMAN 
UNIVERSITIES. 


I.  Bull  of  Pius  II.  for  establishing  the  University  of  iNGOLSTADT.f 

Pius,  bishop,  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,  in  perpetual  remembrance : — Among 
the  happinesses  which  in  this  unstable  life  are  offered  us  by  the  gift  of  God,  it  is  not 
to  be  counted  among  the  least  that  by  assiduous  study  the  pearl  of  knowledge  may 
be  found  ;  which  points  out  the  way  to  live  well  and  happily,  and  makes  the  learned 
far  different  from  the  unlearned,  and  like  God.  And  besides  that,  it  introduces 
such  to  the  clear  comprehension  of  the  secrets  of  the  universe ;  it  assists  the  un- 
learned, and  raises  on  high  those  born  in  the  lowest  places ;  and  for  these  reasons 
the  Apostolic  See, — a  provident  manager  in  things  both  spiritual  and  temporal — a 
careful  distributor  of  its  honorable  abundance — and  the  continual  and  faithful  helper 
of  every  commendable  work, — in  order  that  men  may  be  the  more  easily  carried  to 
the  attainment  of  so  lofty  a  point  of  earthly  condition,  and  to  refund  again  with 
increase  to  others  what  they  have  gained,  since  distribution  diminishes  the  quan- 
tity of  other  things,  but  knowledge  increases  by  being  communicated  in  proportion 
as  it  is  diffused  among  more  persons — exhorts  them  to  prepare  places  for  it ;  assists 
and  cherishes  it ;  and  is  itself  accustomed,  especially  at  the  request  of  Catholic 
princes,  willingly  to  make  grants  for  its  convenience  and  usefulness. 

A  petition  lately  exhibited  to  us  on  the  part  of  our  beloved  son,  the  noble  Louis, 
Count  Palatine  on  the  Rhine,  Duke  of  Bavaria,  imports  that  he,  having  long  and 
providently  considered  that  by  the  labors  of  those  who  pursue  learned  studies  the 
Divine  Majesty  is  worthily  worshiped ;  the  truth  of  the  orthodox  faith  illustrated  ; 
virtues  and  good  morals  are  acquired,  and  every  species  of  human  prosperity  aug- 
mented, fervently  desires,  for  the  good  of  the  common  weal,  that  in  his  city  of  In- 
golstadt,  in  the  Diocese  of  Eystett — which  is  very  fit  for  the  purpose,  and  in  which 
the  air  is  temperate,  and  an  abundance  of  the  necessaries  of  life  is  found,  and  which 
has  no  other  university  within  a  circuit  of  almost  a  hundred  and  fifty  Italian  miles 
around  it,  or  thereabouts — there  may  be  founded  a  university  in  all  the  lawful  facul- 
ties (studium  generate  in  quallbet  licita  Facilitate),  where  the  faith  may  be  promoted, 
the  simple  instructed,  equity  in  judgment  preserved,  reason  cultivated,  the  minds 
of  men  enlightened,  and  their  intellects  illustrated. 

We,  having  attentively  considered  the  premises,  and  also  the  eminent  sincerity 
of  the  faithful  devotion  which  the  said  duke  has  been  proved  to  feel  to  us  and  to 
the  Koman  Church,  experience  a  fervent  desire  that  the  said  city  may  be  embel- 
lished with  the  gifts  of  science,  so  that  it  may  produce  men  eminent  for  mature 
judgment,  crowned  with  ornaments  of  virtues,  and  erudite  in  the  doctrines  of  the 
various  faculties,  and  that  there  may  be  there  a  plentiful  fountain  of  learning,  from 

*  Schiittgen,  112.  t  Mederer,  iv.  16. 


153  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

whose  abundance  all  may  drink  who  desire  to  be  imbued  with  good  literature  ; — 
and  favorably  inclining  to  the  supplications  of  the  aforesaid  duke  on  that  part,  for 
the  glory  of  the  divine  name,  and  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  by  apostolical 
authority  do  determine  and  ordain  that  in  the  said  city  there  shall  henceforward  bo 
a  university,  and  that  it  shall  there  exist  for  all  future  time,  in  theology,  canon  and 
civil  law,  medicine,  arts,  and  every  other  lawful  faculty.  And  that  readers  (legerdes) 
and  students  in  it  may  for  the  future  enjoy  and  use  all  privileges,  liberties,  exemp- 
tions, honors,  and  immunities  whatsoever,  and  in  the  same  manner  as  masters, 
doctors,  and  students  in  the  University  of  Vienna  do  or  can  enjoy  or  use  them. 
And  that  those  who  in  process  of  time  shall  have  merited  the  reward  of  superiority 
in  the  faculty  which  they  study,  and  shall  have  sought  a  license  to  teach,  that  they 
may  instruct  other3,  or  the  honor  of  the  master's  degree,  or  the  doctorate,  may  be 
admitted  to  the  same  by  the  doctor  or  doctors,  or  master  or  masters  of  such  faculty, 
after  strict  examination,  with  the  usual  formalities.  And  those  who  have  been 
examined  and  approved  in  the  said  university  of  the  said  town,  and  have  obtained 
a  license  to  teach,  or  an  honor,  may  thereafter  have  full  and  free  liberty  of  reading 
and  teaching,  "both  in  the  said  city  and  in  other  universities  where  they  may  desire 
to  read  or  teach,  without  other  examination  or  approbation,  notwithstanding  the 
statutes,  customs,  and  privileges  of  the  University  of  Vienna,  or  of  other  universi- 
ties, assured  to  them  by  oath,  apostolical  confirmation,  or  any  other  confirmation 
whatever,  precisely  as  if  special  and  express  mention  had  been  made  of  them,  and 
of  the  entire  tenor  of  them,  in  these  presents,  and  of  all  other  contrary  matters 
whatsoever. 

But  we  ordain  that  scholars  in  this  university  about  being  erected,  taking  an 
honor  of  any  grade,  shall  be  held  obligated,  and  obliged,  to  take  a  proper  oath  of 
fidelity,  before  the  Rector  for  the  time  being  of  the  said  university,  according  to 
the  form  given  in  these  presents.  And  the  form  of  the  said  oath  is  as  follows :  "  I, 
a  scholar  of  the  University  of  Ingolstadt,  in  the  diocese  of  Eystett,  will,  from  this 
hour  forward,  be  faithful  and  obedient  to  Saint  Peter  and  to  the  holy  Soman 
Church,  and  to  my  lord,  the  lord  Pius  the  Second,  papal  pontiff,  and  to  his  succes- 
sors canonically  succeeding.  I  will  not  enter  into  any  plan,  agreement,  undertak- 
ing, or  act,  to  cause  them  to  lose  life  or  limb,  or  into  any  machinations  or  conspira- 
cies for  the  derogation  or  prejudice  of  the  person  of  any  one  of  them,  or  of  the 
authority,  honor,  or  privileges  of  his  Church,  or  of  the  Apostolic  See,  or  of  the 
Apostolic  statutes,  ordinances,  reservations,  dispositions,  or  mandates  ;  neither,  as 
often  as  I  shall  know  of  the  agitation  of  any  such  thing,  will  I  fail  to  impede  it  to 
the  best  of  my  ability,  or  to  do  whatever  I  conveniently  can  to  signify  the  matter 
to  our  said  lord,  or  to  some  other  person,  through  whom  it  may  come  to  his  notice. 
But  the  counsels  which  shall  be  intrusted  to  me  by  them,  their  messengers,  or  let- 
ters, I  will  reveal  to  no  one,  to  their  damage.  I  will  be  their  assistant  against  every 
man,  for  the  retaining  and  defending  the  Roman  primacy,  and  the  royalties  of  St. 
Peter.  I  will  be  diligent  to  increase  and  promote,  as  much  as  in  me  lies,  their 
authority,  privileges,  and  rights,  and  to  observe  with  care  their  statutes,  ordinances, 
reservations,  and  dispositions.  I  will  assist  the  legates  of  the  Apostolic  See  hon- 
orably, and  in  their  necessities ;  and  will  follow  up,  and  fight  against,  to  the  utmost 
of  my  strength,  heretics  and  schismatics,  and  such  as  shall  rebel  against  any  one  of 
the  aforesaid  successors  to  our  lord.  So  help  me  God,  and  these  holy  Evangelists 
of  God." 

Let  no  man  whatever,  therefore,  infringe  upon  this  our  statute  and  ordinance,  or 
with  rash  daring  violate  it;  and  if  any  shall  presume  to  attempt  it,  let  him  know 
that  he  will  incur  the  wrath  of  the  omnipotent  God,  and  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
the  Apostles.  Given  at  Siena,  in  the  year  of  the  divine  incarnation  one  thousand 
four  hundred  and  fifty-niue,  on  the  seventh  to  the  ides  of  April.  In  the  year  of 
our  pontificate,  the  first. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 


15S 


II.  List  of  Lectures  in  the  Faculty  of  Arts 
Prague,  1366.  t 


Honorarium 
Groschen.    Months. 

8  6 

9 

4 

i 


Metaphysics,* 8 

Physics,* 

On  the  heavens,* 5 

Generation,* 3 

Sense  and  sensation,* 

Memory  anil  recollection,* 

Sleep  and  waking,* 

Length  and  shortness  of.  life,* 

Vegetables,* 

Ethics  and  Physics,* 

Politics  and  Physics,* 

Rhetoric  and  Physics,* 

(Economics,* 

Roethius  de  consolatione, 4 

The  old  logic, 3 

Prior  (ethics  ?)* 4 


Honorarium. 
Groschen.    Months. 

Posterior  (ethics  ?)* 3  3 

Topics,* 4  4 

Treatise  of  Peter  Hispanus, 2  3 

Material  Sphere,  1  1\ 

Algorism, 

Theory  of  the  planets, 2 

Six  books  of  Euclid, 8 

Almagest lfl 

Almanach, 10 

Priscian  (major), : 2 

De  Grsecismo, 6 

Poetria  nova, 2 

Labyrinth 1 

Roetins  on  the  discipline  of  schools, 
Doctrinale,  2d  part, 


li 


Erfurt,  1449.$ 

Months, 


Physics, 8 

On  the  soul 3 

On  heavens  and  earth, 8 

On  meteors, 3 

Lesser  natural  philosophy,* 2 

Ethics, 8 

Politics, .• 6 

(Economics, 1 

Metaphysics, 6 

Euclid, 6 

Theory  of  the  planets, H 

Music. 1 

Art  of  metrical  composition, 1 

Perspective 3 

Material  sphere H 

Old  logic 84 

Prior  "(ethics  ?) S£ 

Posterior  (ethics?) S£ 

Topics 4 

Ingolstadt,  1472.§ 


Months. 

Elenchi ,* 2 

Peter  Hispanus, 3 

Suppositions,  amplifications,  restrictions,  and 

appellations, 2 

Consequences, 1 

Biligam  ? 1 

Obligatory  and   insoluble  propositions 1 

Priscian   (minor), 3 

Donatus, 1 

Alexander,  part  1st  (Doctrinale), 1 

Same,  part  2, 1 

Same,  part  3, 1 

Boetius  on  the  consolations  of  philosophy,. ..  1 

Loyca  Heysbri, 4 

Poetria, 2 

Computus, 1 

Algorism 1 

Labyrinth, 2 


Honorarium. 
Groschen. 

Lesser  logic,  and  exercises, 

Old  logic,  and  exercises, 24 

Elenchi 8 

Obligatory  propositions, 1 

Physics,  and  exercises, 

Material  sphere 3 

Euclid,  1st  book, 1 

Algorism,  integers, 1 

Some  book  on  rhetoric, 1 

Alexander,  1st  part  (Doctrinale), 3 

Same.  2d  part 3 

Prior  (ethics  ?)  exercises, 10 


Honorarium. 
Groschen. 

(The  preceding  examined  on  for  baccalaureate ; 
the  following  for  the  master's  degree.) 

Ethics 

Metaphysics, 9 

On  meteors, 11 

On  generation  and  corruption, 3 

On  heavens  and  earth 6 

Lesser  natural  philosophy, 8 

Theory  of  the  planets, 3 

Common  arithmetic, 2 

Topics, 6 

On  the  soul. U 

Posterior  (ethics  ?) 3 


Vienna,  1369.11 


Honorarium. 
Groschen. 

Physics J 

Metaphysics *? 

Heavens  and  earth, & 

On  generation  and  corruption, 3 

On  meteors, jj 

On  the  soul, £ 

Lesser  natural  philosophy, 8 

Ethics, }2 

Politics. ij 

(Economics, " 


Honorarium. 
Gmschen. 

Boetius  on  the  consolations  of  philosophy,..  5 
(5 


Euclid,  5  books 

Theory  of  the  planets, * 

Perspective, £ 

Bragwardinus  on  proportionate  lengths, 8 

On  breadth  of  forms, 2 

Albertus  Magnus1  summary  of  nat.  phil., 4 

Old  logic, \ 

Peter  Hispanus, jj 

Prior  (ethics  ?) 6 


i.  1,  76.      I  give  these  lists  as  in  the  origi- 


t  From  "  Monumenta  Universitatis  Pragerisis,' 
nal  sources,  with  their  characteristic  errors. 

%  Motschmann,  i.  §  Mederer,  iv.  93. 

|  Zeisl,  138.    This  list  is  headed,  "  We  now  assign  the  books  ordinarily  to  be  read,  wi 
fees  of  the  same,  which  no  master  may  presume  to  augment.'1' 
cate  those  for  the  other  ordinary  lectures. 


These  fees  will  sufficiently  indi- 


160  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

Upon  the  above  lists  of  lectures  in  arts,  it  may  be  observed : 

1.  The  books  which  passed  for  Aristotle's  are  marked  with  a  star  (*),  in  the 
Prague  list ;  as  is  also  the  Elenchi,  in  the  Erfurt  list,  for  the  same  reason.  The  lat- 
ter, together  with  the  Prior  and  Posterior  (ethics  ?),  and  Topics,  belong  to  the  new 
logic.     The  "  old  logic"  (  Fetus  ars,  Logica  vetus)  is  not  that  of  Aristotle. 

Lesser  natural  philosophy. — "  Part  6th  of  the  Aristotelian  Physiology,  which  dis- 
putes upon  the  general  characteristics  of  living  beings,  such  as  memory  and  recol- 
lection, sense  and  sensation,  sleep  and  dreams,  .  .  .  waking,  respiration,  old  age, 
life,  death;  which  three  are  called  lesser  natural  philosophy  (parva  naturalia)." 
See  Monum.  Univ.  Prag.,  i.  2,  551,  564,  567. 

2.  Honorarium,  or  fee  (Pastus). — At  Prague,  those  who  were  unable  to  pay  12 
gulden  a  year,  might  attend  the  lectures  free.  The  professor  was  not  to  take  more 
than  the  fixed  fee  for  each  lecture,  nor,  however,  might  he  take  less  (by  way  of 
attracting  scholars).  If  the  smallness  of  his  audience  compelled  him  to  discontinue 
his  lectures,  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  those  from  whom  he  had  received  it,  the 
fee,  less  a  part  proportioned  to  the  lectures  read.  Receivers  or  collectors  corre- 
sponded to  the  present  quaestors,  and  their  office  was  "  to  collect  the  dues  of  the 
faculty;  and  accordingly  collecta  is  the  honorarium."     (Zeisl,  138,  147.) 

III.  Bursaries.     Burschen.* 

"Bursa:  1.  Purse,  bourse ;  from  the  Greek  of  0vp<ra,  a  hide,  because  they  were 
made  of  leather.  Jo.  de  Garlandia  gives,  as  synonyms,  '  marsupium,  bursa,  forulus, 
loeusque,  crumena.'' 

"2.  Chest,  Ttt/iuoi/,  casket;  but,  more  properly,  a  box  for  a  specified  purpose.  In 
these  bursca  or  chests  were  deposited  sums  set  apart  for  the  support  of  scholars,  or 
given  by  pious  men  for  that  purpose. f  Bursarius :  One  who  receives  an  allowance 
from  a  bursa;  also,  applied  to  such  scholars  in  the  universities  as  are  allowed,  on 
account  of  poverty,  certain  amounts  from  the  chest  set  apart  for  that  purpose,  to 
enable  them  to  complete  their  studies."     (Ditfresne.) 

Chrysander  wrote  a  treatise,  "  Why  Students  at  the  Universities  are  called  Burs- 
chen.    Rinteln,  1751."     I  extract  the  following  from  it: 

"  The  chest  from  which  poor  students  were  supported  at  the  Sorbonne  was  called 
Bursa,  and  such  students,  Bursii  or  Bursarii,  Boursier.  '  A  Boursier  was  a  poor 
scholar  or  student,  supported  hy  the  Bursa  of  his  college.  The  others,  who  sup- 
ported themselves  at  the  university  of  Paris  by  their  own  means,  were  called  Stu- 
dios!, students.' "     Hence  the  term  was  introduced  to  Germany. 

In  Italy,  however,  the  students  were  called  Bursati,  because  they  were  girded 
with  a  bursa  or  purse.    Hence  the  stanza  : 

"Dum  mea  bursa  sonat, 
Hospes  mihi  fercula  donat. 
Dum  mea  bursa  vacat, 
Hospes  mihi  ostia  monstrat" 

That  is  :  M  While  my  purse  tinkles,  the  host  gives  me  delicacies;  but  when  it  is 
empty  he  shows  me  the  door."     A  similar  French  stanza  is : 

"Quand  ma  bourse  fait,  bim,  bim,  bim, 
Tout  le  monde  est  mon  cousin  ; 
Mais  quand  elle  fait  da,  da,  da, 
Tout  le  moude  dit,  Tu  t'en  va.v$ 

The  French  Boursiers  seem  to  correspond  to  the  poor  students  of  Germany,  and 
the  Italian  Bursati  to  the  rich  ones. 


*  See  an  article  entitled  "  Signification  of  '  Burscb''  and  '  Burschenschaft,1 "  in  the  Academical 
Monthly,  May  and  June,  1853,  p.  252. 

t  Merchants1  purses  were  also  called  Bursa. 

%  This  stanza  is  quoted  hy  the  pseudonymous  Schlingschlangschlorum.  See  note,  under 
chapter  on  "Personal  Relations  between  Professors  and  Students." 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  161 

IV.  Comments  of  Landsmannschaften. 
Extract  from  Comment  of  Landsmannschaft  at /  (Altdorff),  as  in  force  in  1815.* 

GENERAL    PROVISIONS. 

§  1.  The  Societies  bind  themselves  to  put  the  present  Comment  into  operation 
from  the  moment  of  its  ratification,  and  to  enforce  the  penalties  fixed  therein. 

§  2.  If  occasions  shall  arise  for  which  the  present  Burschen-Comment  does  not 
provide,  or  if  additional  statutes  are  to  be  enacted,  or  if  there  is  any  occasion  for  a 
general  council,  two  deputies  are  to  be  appointed  from  each  Society,  who  shall  ex- 
change with  each  other  the  sentiments  of  the  Societies ;  of  which  two,  one,  at  least, 
must  be  an  Old  Bursch.  The  majority  of  voices,  or  in  case  of  a  tie,  the  lot,  shall  de- 
termine the  result. 

§  3.  The  Societies  bind  themselves  not  to  permit  this  code  to  come  into  the  hands 
of  a  renouncer ;  but  to  cite  its  provisions,  when  necessary,  only  as  if  by  oral  tra- 
dition, and  without  giving  any  other  source  for  them  than  general  custom. 

Title  I. — Belations  of  the  Societies  to  each  other  and  to  Benounceus. 
A. — Societies  to  each  other. 

§  4.  Existing  Societies  ratifying  this  Comment,  mutually  guarantee  to  each  other 
their  existence  as  at  present. 

§  5.  No  Society  not  now  existing  can  be  organized  without  the  consent  of  those  ex- 
isting; nor  can  any  existing  Society  be  extinguished  without  the  consent  of  all  the 
existing  Societies,  or  without  sufficient  and  proved  reasons.  Nor  can  any  new  So- 
ciety organize  itself  under  the  name  of  an  existing  Society. 

§  6.  All  the  Societies  have  equal  rights. 

§  7.  In  case  of  collisions  between  them,  as,  for  instance,  in  differences  for  prece- 
dence, the  major  vote  of  the  deputies,  or  the  lot,  in  case  of  a  tie,  shall  determine. 

B. — Between  the  Societies  and  Renouncers. 

§  8.  Every  student,  not  a  member  of  a  Society,  is  a  Bei;ouncer. 

§  9.  In  case  of  doubt,  the  student  shall  be  considered  a  Benouncer. 

§  10.  Benouncers  can  enter  only  the  Society  of  their  countrymen  ;  but  if  there  is 
no  such,  they  may  enter  any  other  existing  one  which  is  undetermined.  Novel: 
but  he  shall  not  be  recognized  as  such  member  by  the  other  societies  until  so  rec- 
ognized by  a  major  vote  of  the  Convention  of  Seniors. 

§  11.  On  public  festival  occasions,  the  Societies  shall  be  governed  by  the  directory. 

§  12.  Members  of  a  Society  have,  everywhere,  precedence  over  Benouncers. 

Title  II.— Distinctions  among  Students. 
a. — According  to  Birthplace. 
%  13.  A  Bavement-beater  (PJlastertreter),  or  Quark,  is  one  whose  parents  live  in 
the  university  town. 

§  14.  A  Cummin-Turk  (KilmmelturJc)  is  one  whose  parents  reside  within  four 
miles  of  the  university  town. 

b. — According  to  length  of  stay  at  the  University. 
%  15.  From  the  moment  of  matriculation,  every  matriculated  student  is  a  student 
qualified  to  fight. 

§  16.  A  Fox  is  one  who 

a.  Has  not  yet  been  half  a  year  at  the  university  since  his  matriculation  ;  or, 

b.  Comes  from  a  university  which  the  Burschen  of  the  present  university  have 
degraded  to  the  rank  of  Fox. 

§  17.  A  Brander  or  Brand- Fox  is  a  Fox  after  his  first  half-year. 


*  Haupt,  p.  1S5.    The  KoveU  or  additions  to  this  code  are  dated  June  15,  1315.    Ilaupt,  p.  203. 

11 


162  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

§  18.  But  any  Fox  may  be  made  a  Brander,  or  any  Brander  a  Young  Bursch,  by 
his  Society. 

§  19.  A  Pavement-beater,  Cummin-Turk,  or  Fox,  may  not,  without  renowning, 
either  consider  himself  insulted  by  those  names,  nor  use  them  in  insult. 

§  20.  Excessive  impositions  upon  the  Foxes  is  by  no  means  to  the  honor  of  a 
Bursch.  If  these  border  upon  abuse,  the  Fox  may  demand  satisfaction  of  the 
Bursch,  or  take  the  advantage  of  him.*  And  any  Society  may,  besides,  make  the 
matter  one  concerning  itself,  if  the  insulted  Fox  is  a  member. 

§  21.  In  other  matters,  every  Bursch  lias  the  prerogative  over  the  Foxes  and 
Branders,  that  the  latter  may  not  challenge  him  on  behalf  of  an  insulted  person, 
nor  make  appointments,  nor  be  seconds  in  a  duel,  nor  give  testimony  in  a  case  of 
dueling,  nor  preside,  nor  have  precedence  in  dancing,  nor  give  the  pitch,  nor  ride 
with  them  in  public  processions,  nor  drink  SclutiolUs  to  themT  &c. 

§  22.  A  Young  Bursch  is  one  who  is  passing  the  first  half  of  his  second  year; 
during  the  latter  half  he  is  Bursch.  During  the  first  half  of  the  third  year  he  is  an 
Old  Bursch,  and  afterward  a  Mossy  Man  (bemooster  Herr). 

§  23.  According  to  this  reckoning  of  time  spent  at  the  university,  if  he  have  not 
been  in  dishonor  (im  verschisse)  during  the  same,  a  student  can  become  a  Mossy 
Man  during  his  fifth  half-year  at  the  university,  if  he  has  been  previously  promoted 
from  the  degree  of  Fox  to  that  of  Brander,  or  from  that  of  Brander  to  that  of 
Bursch. 

c. — According  to  the  possession  or  lack  of  Bursch-lionor. 
aa.   The  Honorable. 

%  24.  Every  student  is  to  be  reckoned  honorable  until  lie  is  expressly  declared 
dishonorable  (in  verschiss  komm)  by  the  Society. 

§  25.  In  case  of  doubt,  the  party  is  to  be  held  honorable. 

§  26.  Every  honorable  student  gives  or  receives  the  ordinary  Bursch-satisfaction, 
according  to  his  injury. 

§  27.  If  two  honorable  students  give  their  word  of  honor  to  the  truth  of  the  same 
fact ;  or  one  for  and  the  other  against  it,  he  who  first  gave  it,  as  the  injured  party, 
is  entitled  to  satisfaction  from  the  other. 

§  23.  If  one  Eenouncer  applies  to  another,  or  to  a  member  of  a  Society,  the  term 
"  dishonorable,"  &c,  the  injured  party  is  entitled  to  fight  him  three  times,  with  the 
choice  of  weapons,  whatever  the  result  of  the  duels.  (!) 

§  29.  A  party  insulted  by  a  pereat  may 

1.  Take  a  real  advantage!  of  the  other,  and 

2.  Must  fight  a  duel  with  him. 

bb.  The  Dishonorable. 
§  30.  For  each  dishonor  (verschisse)  is  requisite  : 

a.  A  major  vote  of  the  deputies. 

b.  A  sufficient  reason. 

Novel.  And  the  Society  concerned  shall  not  vote. 

A. — What  constitutes  dishonor  of  a  student. 

§  31.  Dishonor  is  either  that  from  which  the  person  dishonored  can  never  escape, 
or  from  which  he  may  be  relieved  after  a  certain  time. 

§  32.  Of  what  kind  the  dishonor  shall  be,  always  depends  upon  the  decision  of 
the  deputies. 

§  33.  Causes  of  dishonor  are  : 

a.  If  a  student  breaks  his  word  of  honor. 

b.  If  a  member  of  one  Society  applies  to  a  member  of  another  Society,  of  whom 

*  "Advantage;"  see  this  Appendix,  p.  58.  fSee  this  Appendix,  p.  58. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  163 

he  knows  only  the  distinguishing  tokens,  the  term  "  dishonorahle,"  the  former  be- 
comes thereby  dishonorable. 

c.  Returning,  to  the  highest  verbal  insult  of  "  foolish  fellow"  (Dummer  Juv<je), 
a  further  verbal  or  actual  insult,  or  only  threatening  to  inflict  a  similar  verbal  insult, 
after  having  been  told  that  the  party  insulting  is  ready  to  fight. 

d.  Refusing  the  satisfaction  which  is  demanded,  or  not  knowing  and  seeking  how 
to  exact  satisfaction  for  the  term  "foolish  fellow." 

e.  Becoming  a  traitor  in  matters  relating  to  the  Burschen  :  as,  for  instance,  by 
giving  testimony  against  a  student.  (!!!) 

f.  Stealing,  or  being  guilty  of  a  great  (!)  piece  of  cheating  at  play. 

g.  Declaring  one's  self  entirely  free  from  the  obligations  of  this  Comment.  (!) 
h.  Living  in,  or  going  to  the  house  of  a  dishonored  Philister. 

i.  Holding  confidential  intercourse  with  any  dishonored  person,  except  when 
strict  necessity  requires  it.  Persons  violating  clauses  h  and  i,  are  first  to  be  noti- 
fied, by  members  of  their  own  Society,  to  separate  from  the  offenders;  and,  if  diso- 
bedient, they  become  dishonorable  with  them. 

k.  Uttering  apereat  against  a  whole  Society. 

1.  Taking  hold  of  an  adversary's  sword  with  the  hand. 

m.  Bringing  unequal  weapons  to  a  duel,  as  a  broadsword  against  a  rapier ;  or 
using  weapons  contrary  to  their  purpose,  as  to  thrust  with  a  broadsword. 

n.  Intentionally  thrusting  or  cutting  after  the  seconds  have  called  Halt ! 

0.  Challenging  without  any  reason. 

p.  Expulsion,  with  infamy,  from  a  Society. 

q.  Letting  one's  self  be  chased  away  with  a  straight  sword  or  a  Jena  rapier. 
Novel.  But  this  shall  be  reckoned  a  shame  (Sehande)  only. 

B. — Dishonor  of  Philister. 

§  84.  As  under  §  30,  without  the  Novels. 

C. — Consequences  of  Dishonor. 
a.  —  With  Students. 
§  85.  The  dishonorable  has  no  claim  to  the  honor  or  satisfaction  of  a  Bursch.    Any 
advantage  may  be  taken  of  him. 

§  36.  The  dishonorable  can  not  take  part  in  any  commerce,  or  any  public  ceremony. 
§  37.  In  duels  between  the  dishonorable  and  Philister,  the  former  shall  receive 
no  countenance,  unless  in  case  of  insult,  by  the  latter,  to  honorable  Burschen. 

b.—  With  Philister. 
§  33.  The  consequences  of  dishonor,  with  the  Philister,  depend  on  the  kind  of 
the  dishonor;  that  is, 

1.  Whether  the  Philister  is  dishonorable  on  every  account,  or 

2.  Only  on  one;  as  landlord,  for  instance,  or  as  artisan  ;  in  which  case  the  con- 
sequences follow,  of  course  (by  §  33,  h). 

D. — Removal  of  Dishonor. 

a. — la  the  case  of  Students. 

%  39.  A  dishonorable  person  may  be  relieved  from  his  dishonor,  according  to  its 
kind  ;  and  if  he  demand  it,  a  member  is  selected  from  each  Society,  with  whom  he 
must  fight.  The  choice  of  weapons  belongs  to  such  members,  and  not  more  than 
three  duels  must  be  fought  with  any  one  of  them. 

§  40.  Dishonor  may  be  removed  by  unanimous  vote  of  the  deputies  of  the  So- 
cieties. 

§  41.  The  person  freed  from  dishonor  re-enters  upon  all  his  rights  as  a  Bursch. 


164  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

b. — In  the  case  of  Philister. 
%  42.  The  dishonor  of  a  Philister  is  removed  at  the  expiration  of  the  time  for 
during  which  it  was  imposed. 

Title  III. — Provisions  on  Injuries  to  Bursch-honor. 

§  43.  An  honorable  student,  receiving  a  verbal  insult  from  another,  or  being 
pushed  by  him,  may 

a.  Push  him  back  again,  or 

b.  Take  the  advantage  of  him,  by  calling  him  foolish  fellow. 

c.  "  Foolish  fellow"  is  the  highest  verbal  insult,  and  can  be  answered  by  no 
further  insult ;  it  can  be  followed  only  by  a  challenge.  If  one  apply  to  another  any 
other  insulting  expression,  as  "  scoundrel,"  and  other  terms,  the  insulted  person 
may  knock  him  down  or  challenge  him,  and,  after  the  duel,  may  address  to  him 
the  same  verbal  insult.  The  term  dishonorable,  however,  may  not,  under  penalty 
of  the  punishments  above  specified,  be  used,  except  to  a  dishonorable  person,  upon 
whom  both  verbal  and  real  insults  may  be  inflicted. 

§  44.  Insults  from  officers  or  honorable  students  from  other  universities  come 
under  the  same  rule. 

§  45.  In  case  of  a  duel  with  a  student  of  another  university,  they  shall  meet  half 
way  between  the  two  universities.  The  person  insulted  shall  fight  the  first  three 
bouts  with  the  weapon  of  his  own  university,  and  the  last  three  with  that  of  his 
opponent's. 

§  46.  In  the  university  prison,  the  Comment  is  suspended. 

Extract  from  the  Comment  of  ilie  Landsmannschoft  of  the  University  of  Leipzig,  as  in 
force  in  1817. 

Title  II. — Of  the  Insult,  or  Advantage. 

8  1.  Whether  honor  be  hurt,  or  not,  is  left  to  the  feelings  of  each  individual; 
but  the  convention  has  recognized  certain  expressions  and  actions,  viz.,  those 
which  are  mortifying,  or  which  undervalue  one's  honor  and  good  reputation,  as  in- 
sults which  every  student  is,  as  such,  bound  to  answer  by  a  challenge. 

§  2.  Among  verbal  insults  and  verbal  advantages  are  the  terms  "  singular,  arro- 
gant, absurd,  silly,  simple,  impertinent,  rude,  foolish;"  and,  as  an  epitome  of  the 
extremest  verbal  insult  and  advantage,  "  foolish  fellow." 

%  3.  For  all  these  expressions  an  unconditional  challenge  must  pass,  unless  they 
are  withdrawn.  Real  insults  can  not  be  withdrawn.  Insults  given  in  intoxication 
are  not  to  be  noticed,  unless  they  are  afterward  repeated,  when  sober. 

§  4.  If  any  one  thinks  himself  insulted  by  expressions  or  gestures,  he  may  either 
proceed  by  means  of  the  coramage,  or  take  a  verbal  advantage ;  but  must  not  send 
a  challenge  for  that  reason. 

§  5.  If  any  one  thinks  himself  not  entitled  either  to  challenge  or  to  resort  to  the 
corarnage,  he  may  take  the  advantage:  that  is,  may  answer  with  a  more  insulting 
expression,  and  thus  wipe  out  the  lesser  one. 

§  6.  Real  advantages  are,  a  box  on  the  ear,  a  blow  with  a  stick,  or  any  other  as- 
sault with  whip  or  stick.  The  offer  of  any  such  shall  not  be  considered  an  ad- 
vantage. 

£  7.  The  advantage  can  not  be  taken  unless  within  three  days  of  the  receiving  of 
an  insult ;  but,  if  the  aggressor  can  not  be  found,  at  his  house,  or  elsewhere,  within 
that  time,  the  term  begins  anew,  and  so  onward. 

§  8.  There  must  be  at  least  one  witness  when  an  advantage  is  taken.  But  if  he 
who  takes  it  shall  give  his  word  of  honor  to  the  fact,  it  shall  be  sufficient,  if  he  be- 
long to  a  Society. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  165 

V.  Constitution's  ok  Burschenschaften. 
A.— Constitution  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft. 
Adopted  on  the  ISt/i  day  of  the  month  of  Victory  (October),  ISIS.* 

GENERAL     PRINCIPLES. 

§  1.  The  General  German  Burschenschaft  is  the  free  union  of  all  the  German 
youth  engaged  in  learned  studies  at  the  universities  ;  based  upon  the  relations  of 
the  German  youth  to  the  coming  union  of  the  German  people. 

§  2.  The  General  German  Burschenschaft,  as  a  free  Society,  lays  down,  as  the 
central  point  of  its  operations,  the  following  received  general  principles  : 

a.  Unity,  freedom,  and  equality  of  all  Burschen  among  each,  other,  and  equality 
of  all  rights  and  duties. 

b.  Christian  German  education  of  every  mental  and  bodily  faculty  to  the  service 
of  the  fatherland. 

§  3.  The  living  together  of  all  the  German  Burschen  in  the  spirit  of  these  princi- 
ples, expresses  the  highest  idea  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft — the  unity 
of  all  the  German  Burschen  in  spirit  and  in  life. 

§  4.  The  General  German  Burschenschaft  assumes  existence,  in  order  that  the 
longer  it  lives,  the  more  it  may  present  a  picture  of  the  freedom  and  unity  of  its 
prosperous  nation;  that  it  may  maintain  a  national  Burschen-life  in  the  develop- 
ment of  every  bodily  and  mental  faculty  ;  and  in  a  free,  equal,  and  orderly  common 
life,  will  prepare  its  members  for  national  life,  so  that  each  one  of  them  may  be 
raised  to  such  a  grade  of  self-knowledge,  as  in  his  own  pure  individuality  to  dis- 
play the  brightness  of  the  glory  of  the  German  national  life. 

Constitution. 

§  5.  As  the  General  German  Burschenschaft  does  not  exist  at  any  one  place,  it  is 
livided  into  separate  Burschenschaften,  at  the  different  universities. 

§  6.  These  Burschenschaften  are,  in  respect  to  each  other,  to  act  as  entirely  simi- 
lar parts — as  parts  of  the  entire  whole. 

§  7.  The  constitutions  of  these  separate  Burschenschaften  must  coincide,  as  far 
as  the  above  fixed  principles,  without  any  prejudice  to  any  other  peculiarities  of 
each  separate  one. 

§  8.  The  General  German  Burschenschaft  acts — 

a.  By  an  assembly  of  delegates  from  the  separate  ones,  meeting  annually,  at  the 
period  of  the  eighteenth  of  the  month  of  victory  (October);  to  which  each  shall 
send,  if  possible,  three  delegates,  with  full  powers,  who  shall  bring  with  them  the 
constitution,  the  customs,  and  the  history  of  their  Burschenschaft. 

b.  By  the  choice  of  a  Burschenschaft  for  transacting  business  between  one  as- 
sembly of  delegates  and  another,  in  order  to  conduct  the  common  concerns.  As  a 
general  rule,  this  appointment  must  not  be  passed  from  one  Burschenschaft  to 
another  in  any  fixed  succession. 

Kelations  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft  to  its  members;  the  sepa- 
rate Burschenschaften. 

§  9.  As  in  every  well-organized  Society  the  common  will  of  the  whole  is  above 
that  of  a  single  member,  so  in  the  General  German  Burschenschaft,  the  expressed 
will  of  the  whole  is  above  that  of  each  single  one. 

§  10.  Any  separate  Burschenschaft  which  does  not  recognize,  as  its  own,  the  com- 
mon decision  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft,  cuts  itself  off  from  the  Gen- 
eral German  Burschenschaft  by  that  very  act. 

•      *  Haupt,  p.  257. 


166  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES, 

Duties  of  the  Assembly  of  Delegates. 
§  11.  The  assembly  of  delegates  lias  supreme  authority: 

a.  In  controversies  between  the  separate  Burschenschaften  ; 

b.  In  controversies  of  single  Burschen  with  their  Burschenschaft. 

§  12.  It  has  power  to  scrutinize  the  constitutions  of  separate  Burschenschaften, 
as  well  as  to  decide  whether  any  thing  in  them  agrees,  or  not,  with  the  recognized 
fundamental  principles.  In  the  latter  case  it  is  to  propose  to  the  separate  Bursch- 
enschaft  the  alteration  of  the  inconsistent  portion. 

§  13.  The  assembly  of  delegates  shall  usually  begin  its  sessions  with  an  ex- 
amination of  the  constitution  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft,  in  order  to 
convince  themselves  whether  its  form  still  expresses  its  spirit ;  in  order  that  the 
progress  of  its  spirit  may  never,  in  any  way,  be  circumscribed  by  the  letter. 

§  14.  All  propositions  not  having  immediate  reference  to  the  above  general  rec- 
ognized principles,  or  to  the  constitution  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft, 
whether  they  relate  to  the  constitution  or  the  customs  of  the  separate  Burschen- 
schaften, shall  be,  after  previous  examination  and  approval  by  the  assembly  of 
delegates,  by  them  laid  before  the  separate  Burschenschaften  for  acceptance,  with 
request  for  agreement,  as  to  something  promotive  of  the  beautiful  idea  of  com- 
plete freedom  ;  but  still,  whose  non-acceptance  can  not  injure  the  connection  of 
the  whole.  All  such  propositions  shall  be  either  accepted  or  rejected  by  the  sepa- 
rate Burschenschaften,  and  the  result  laid  before  the  next  general  assembly. 

§  15.  In  all  votes  of  the  general  assembly  a  majority  of  votes  shall  be  decisive. 

Duties  of  the  Burschenschaft  for  Managing  Business. 

§  16.  The  Burschenschaft  in  charge  of  the  business  has  the  precedence  in  the 
general  assembly :  that  is,  opens  its  sessions,  leads  the  deliberations,  and  keeps  the 
records. 

§  17.  During  the  year  its  duties  are  the  following : 

a.  It  collects  and  arranges  whatever  is  communicated  to  it  to  be  laid  before  the 
general  assembly. 

b.  It  communicates  all  notifications,  as  quickly  as  possible,  to  the  General  Bursch- 
enschaft ;  for  which  purpose  such  notices  are  sent  to  it  only,  from  the  others. 

c.  It  designates  the  place  and  time  for  the  assembly  of  delegates. 

d.  It  has  charge  of,  and  keeps  in  order  the  papers  of  the  General  German  Bursch- 
enschaft. 

e.  It  keeps  the  treasury  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft,  and  collects  the 
contributions  of  the  separate  Burschenschaften ;  for  which  purpose  each  one  is, 
half-yearly,  to  report  all  changes  of  its  members. 

§  18.  The  Burschenschaft  in  charge  of  business  shall  report  its  proceedings  to 
the  assembly  of  delegates. 

Relations  of  the  separate  Burschenschaften  to  each  other. 

§  19.  The  separate  Burschenschaften  are  to  consider  themselves  equal  parts  of  a 
great  whole. 

§  20.  All  controversies  between  them  must  be  settled,  not  by  duel,  but  by  the 
reasonable  decision  of  the  general  assembly  ;  unless  they  can  be  settled  by  them- 
selves, or  through  the  medium  of  a  third  Burschenschaft. 

§  21.  Each  Burschenschaft  shall  recognize  all  penalties  inflicted  by  the  others  as 
just,  and  as  binding  on  themselves,  unless  the  General  German  Burschenschaft  shall 
have  declared  them  improper. 

§  22.  It  is,  of  course,  understood  that  any  member  of  one  Burschenschaft,  merely 
by  declaring  his  wish,  and  by  adhering  to  the  customs  of  the  university,  can  join 
another. 

§  23.  Mutual  hospitality  is  to  be  practiced. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  167 

Kelations  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft  to  Societies  outside  of  it. 

§  24.  If  a  Society  of  German  Burschen  is  established  at  any  university  where 
there  is  already  a  Burschenschaft,  part  of  the  general  one,  such  Burschen  are,  by 
virtue  of  that  fact,  in  disgrace  ;  which,  however,  ends  with  the  dissolution  of  such 
Societies,  or  secession  from  them. 

§  25.  Where,  however,  Landsmannschaften  or  other  Societies,  having  existed  for 
a  long  time,  are  in  operation,  besides  the  Burschenschaft,  the  separate  Burschen- 
schaften  shall  conduct  toward  them  as  their  character  may  require ;  and  shall  seek, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  gain  them  over,  in  the  way  of  persuasion,  by  exemplifying  the 
truth  to  them,  in  part  by  their  own  whole  life,  and,  where  it  seems  likely  to  be  ef- 
fectual, by  discussion.  But  if  the  Burschenschaft  is  attacked  by  them,  and  hindered 
in  the  free  development  of  its  principles,  it  must  resort  to  the  most  efficient 
measures  which  the  occasion  may  offer,  and  shall  expect  the  utmost  possible  as- 
sistance from  the  General  German  Burschenschaft. 

§  26.  With  universities  where  there  is  no  Burschenschaft,  but  only  Landsmann- 
schaften, the  General  German  Burschenschaft  has  no  further  relation.  But  in 
order  that  these  shall  not  become  rendezvous  for  all  sorts  of  disreputable  persons, 
it  will  advise  them  of  such  Burschen  as  are  known  to  it  to  be  of  bad  character. 

§  27.  If,  however,  there  are,  at  such  universities,  individual  Burschen,  who  de- 
sire to  found  a  Burschenschaft,  the  General  German  Burschenschaft  will  supply  all 
possible  assistance  to  them,  and  pledges,  in  particular,  the  aid  of  the  nearest  uni- 
versity where  there  is  already  a  Burschenschaft. 

§  28.  Foreigners  at  any  German  university  are  permitted  to  proceed  with  their 
education  in  as  free  and  national  a  manner  as  they  desire  ;  but,  as  it  is  not  reason- 
able to  expect  that  they,  as  foreigners,  and  as  intending  to  remain  such,  should 
enter  the  German  Burschenschaft,  and  labor  in  it  for  the  good  of  the  whole,  and  of 
individuals,  they  are  permitted  to  form  associations  with  each  other.  But  an  asso- 
ciation of  foreigners  can  never  have  a  decisive  vote  in  the  general  concerns  of  the 
Burschen ;  and  they  must,  in  all  things,  comply  with  the  prevailing  code  of  customs. 

Kelations  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft  to  individuals  not  members. 

§  29.  With  such  Burschen  as  are  connected  with  no  Society,  the  General  German 
Burschenschaft  stands  in  the  most  friendly  relations.  It  guarantees  to  them  the 
fullest  freedom  which  they  can  enjoy  as  men.  But  it  properly  requires  from  them 
to  conduct  themselves  according  to  the  code  of  customs  prevailing  at  the  university 
where  they  happen  to  be.  To  this  end  all  honorable  Burschen  have  a  right  to  re- 
quire that  the  customs  of  the  university  shall  be  read  to  them.  Their  affairs  of 
honor  with  the  members  of  the  Burschenschaft  shall  be  conducted  according  to  the 
customs  of  the  latter;  but  they  may  select  for  themselves  honorable  seconds  and 
witnesses,  but  such  as  are  acquainted  with  the  code. 

§  80.  If  there  are  at  the  university  associations  other  than  the  Burschenschaft, 
having  different  codes  of  customs,  all  Burschen  connected  with  no  Society,  may,  in 
affairs  of  honor  with  each  other,  proceed  under  whichever  code  they  please ;  but, 
where  they  select  that  of  the  Burschenschaft,  or  where  there  is  only  a  Burschen- 
schaft, the  latter  may  satisfy  itself  that  the  code  will  be  properly  adhered  to. 

§  31.  Against  those  refusing  to  conduct  their  affairs  of  honor  on  the  principles  of 
the  Burschen,  proceedings  shall  be  taken  according  to  their  practice. 

§  32.  The  General  Burschenschaft  will  use  its  means  of  protecting  Burschen  not 
in  that  Society  against  all  treatment  of  an  unjust  kind,  and  unworthy  of  a  Bursch, 
from  those  not  Burschen. 

§  33.  In  consultations  touching  the  good  of  the  whole  university,  all  honorable 
Burschen  must  naturally  have  part,  whether  members  of  the  Burschenschaft  or 
not. 


168  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

General  Festivals. 

§  34.  The  18th  of  the  month  of  victory  is  the  permanent  festival  of  the  General 
German  Burschenschaft.  Every  three  years,  when  possible,  this  day  shall  be  cele- 
brated by  all  the  German  Bnrschen  together,  a*  a  festival  in  commemoration  of  the 
first  brotherly  meeting  at  the  Wartburg. 

§  35.  The  18th  of  June  is  a  festival  for  remembrance  of  all  the  German  brothers 
at  the  other  German  universities. 

B.— General  portion  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Jena  Burschenschaft.* 

§  1.  The  Jena  Burschenschaft,  as  a  part  of  the  General  German  Burschenschaft, 
is  an  association  of  all  the  Jena  Burschen  who  recognize  as  their  own  the  general 
principles  laid  down  in  the  General  Constitution,  and  have  given  in  their  adherence 
to  them  by  joining  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  2.  The  design  of  the  Jena  Burschenschaft  must  be  that  of  the  General  German 
Burschenschaft,  and  it  will  promote  that  design  within  its  sphere  of  activity ;  and 
will,  for  itself,  also  strive  after  the  purposes  therein  proposed. 

§  3.  In  like  manner  will  it,  also  for  itself,  carry  out,  in  actual  life,  the  idea  of  the 
unity  and  freedom  of  the  German  people;  and  will  promote  and  maintain,  in  Jena, 
a  national  and  upright  Burschen-life,  in  unity,  freedom,  and  equality,  in  the  de- 
velopment of  mental  and  bodily  powers,  and  in  a  cheerful  social  intercourse  ;  and 
will,  by  its  organization,  prepare  its  members  for  the  service  of  the  fatherland. 

§  4.  The  Burschenschaft  adopts  the  code  of  customs  as  the  only  one  which  is 
right  and  suitable  to  the  organization  of  the  universities,  and  endeavors  to  maintain 
it,  and  by  means  of  it,  an  honorable  relation  among  the  Burschen. 

§  5.  Therefore  it  has  supreme  power  in  all  affairs  relating  to  the  Burschen  of  our 
university. 

§  6.  Only  upon  decisions  relating  to  the  interests  of  the  whole  university  does  it 
permit  voting  by  those  not  members  of  the  Burschenschaft ;  who  are,  otherwise,  to 
be  treated  as  those  having  themselves  resigned  their  right  to  vote,  since  nothing 
prevents  them  from  joining  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  7.  For  this  reason  every  Bursch  is  bound,  in  every  matter  in  which  he  consults 
with  Burschen,  to  have  reference  to  the  privileges  of  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  8.  The  Burschenschaft,  as  a  separate  organization,  can  exist  only  in  unity  and 
order,  and  in  a  free  and  public  social  intercourse,  such  as  is  proper  for  Burschen. 

§  9.  In  order  to  secure  its  own  existence,  the  Burschenschaft  establishes  a  con- 
stitution, in  which  it  sets  forth  its  relations  in  proper  order;  so  that  each  member 
may  comprehend  the  sentiment  and  spirit  of  the  Burschenschaft,  and  may  be  able 
to  instruct  himself  in  what  relation  he  stands,  and  what  he  must  do  and  avoid,  in 
order  to  become  a  worthy  member  of  the  Society. 

§  10.  The  Burschenschaft  appoints,  as  its  head,  a  managing  board,  to  whom  it 
intrusts  the  management  of  affairs,  as  it  is  impossible  for  the  whole  body  to  transact 
them. 

§  11.  In  order  to  secure  itself  against  any  attempts  upon  the  rights  of  the  whole 
body,  it  appoints,  together  with  the  managing  board,  a  committee,  as  a  supervising 
authority. 

§  12.  But  the  decision  is  reserved  to  the  Society  in  all  cases  which  nearly  concern 
its  own  whole  existence;  as  the  making  of  laws,  and  as  a  tribunal  of  ultimate  ap- 
peal. And  it  shall  also  decide  upon  such  decisions  and  ordinances  of  the  manag- 
ing board  as  are  brought  before  it  by  the  non-concurrence  of  the  committee,  or  by 
the  appeal  of  individuals. 

§  13.  In  order  to  secure  the  obedience  of  its  members  to  its  laws,  it  establishes  a 
code  of  penalties. 


*  Ilaupt,  p.  264. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  ]  69 

§  14.  As  the  maintenance  of  the  Bursehenschaft  renders  necessary  many  expen- 
ditures of  money,  it  pledges  each  of  its  members  to  a  contribution  to  the  common 
funds.     It  establishes  a  treasury. 

§  15.  In  order  to  maintain  in  the  Bursohen-life  the  ancient  knightly  exercise  of 
fencing,  and  that  each  member  of  the  Bursehenschaft  may  be  skillful  enough  for  a 
combat  in  defense  of  his  honor,  the  Bursehenschaft  establishes  a  fencing-room.  It, 
however,  also  favors  other  bodily  exercises,  since  it  recognizes  bodily  development 
as  especially  necessary  to  a  German  education.  For  this  reason  the  Turning-place 
(Turnplate)  is  under  its  protection. 

§  16.  In  order  to  promote  friendship  and  pleasure  in  the  social  intercourse  of  the 
members  of  the  Bursehenschaft,  it  rents  a  Burschen-house,  and  supplies  it  with 
every  thing  proper  for  that  purpose. 

§  17.  Upon  all  occasions  of  celebrations  by  Burschen  on  days  which  are  festivals 
for  every  German,  the  Bursehenschaft  will  appear  as  a  public  participant  at  the 
ceremony.  It  establishes  and  arranges  banquets  for  pleasure,  and  also  more  serious 
celebrations. 

§  18.  A  general  view  of  the  chief  heads  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Jena  Bursehen- 
schaft is  as  follows : 

A.  Organization  as  to  the  business  concerning  the  Society : 

1.  Managing  board. 

2.  Committee. 

3.  Decisions  of  the  whole  Bursehenschaft. 

a.  Sections  of  the  Society. 

b.  Assemblies  of  the  Burschen. 

4.  Course  of  business. 

B.  Entrance  into  and  departure  out  of  the  Bursehenschaft. 

C.  Relations  of  the  members  as  individuals — Bights,  Duties. 

D.  Penal  code. 

E.  Treasury. 

F.  Fencing-rooms. 

G.  Burschenhaus. 

II.  Bursehenschaft  festivals. 

SPECIAL    PART    OF    THE    CONSTITUTION. 

Managing  Board. 

%  19.  The  managing  board  consists  of  nine  managers,  and  three  candidates  for 
the  managership. 

§  20.  The  managing  board  is  chosen  every  half-year,  for  six  months,  by  the 
Bursehenschaft. 

Official  Duties  of  the  Managing  Board. 

§  21.  The  managing  board  is  the  representative  of  the  Bursehenschaft,  and  all 
matters  are  under  its  charge  which  relate  to  the  whole  Society.  It  exercises,  in 
their  name,  judicial,  executive,  supervisory,  and  managerial  authority. 

§  22.  Above  all,  it  is  to  watch  over  the  credit  and  honor  of  the  Bursehenschaft, 
and  to  promote  it  by  every  means  in  its  power. 

§  23.  It  exercises  judicial  power,  in  that  it  decides  all  cases  which  come  before  it 
under  the  laws  ;  or  where  none  of  them  deals  with  the  case  in  hand,  after  the  anal- 
ogy of  existing  laws,  and  in  accordance  with  justice  and  conscience. 

§  24.  It  exercises  executive  power,  by  carrying  into  execution  the  decisions  of 
the  Bursehenschaft. 

§  25.  The  board  watches  over  the  observance  of  the  laws  and  conformity  to  the 
code.  It  decides  upon  quarrels,  and  all  affairs  of  honor  between  Burschen,  which 
are  brought  before  it.     And  accordingly,  each  manager  has  authority  to  stop  any 


170  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

duel  which  appears  to  him  to  be  contrary  to  the  code,  and  to  cause  it  to  be  hi 
vestigated. 

§  26.  It  is  the  right  and  duty  of  the  managers  to  give  friendly  admonitions  to  the 
other  members  of  the  Burschenschaft  in  reference  to  their  relations  as  Burschen. 

§  27.  The  board  manages  all  external  business  of  the  Burschenschaft,  and  con- 
ducts its  correspondence. 

§  28.  It  fixes  the  time  and  place  of  the  assembly  of  the  Burschen. 

§  29.  It  has  charge  of  all  general  festivities,  of  the  Burschen-house,  the  fencing,  and 
especially  the  gymnastic  exercises,  and  the  financial  affairs  of  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  30.  It  is  the  especial  duty  of  the  managers  to  fight  such  duels  as  are  upon  points 
involving  the  whole  Burschenschaft. 

Official  Duties  of  the  Individual  Managers. 

%  31.  In  order  to  the  proper  execution  of  its  duties,  the  managing  board  appor- 
tions offices  among  the  nine  members  as  follows :  one  shall  be  speaker,  one  secre- 
tary, one  treasurer,  one  manager  of  the  fencing-room,  one  of  the  Burschen-house, 
one  steward,  one  umpire  of  the  gymnastic  council,  and  one  historiographer. 

§  32.  All  these  offices  are  conferred  by  the  board  for  the  whole  half-year,  except 
that  of  speaker,  who  is  to  be  appointed  every  month  ;  and  must  not  be  reappointed 
at  the  end  of  his  term. 

§  33.  The  character  of  these  offices  makes  it  necessary  that  the  secretary  and 
treasurer  should  hold  no  other  office ;  but  all  the  others  may  be  speaker  at  the 
same  time. 

The  Speaker. 

§  34.  The  speaker  is  to  call  meetings  of  the  board  whenever  necessary.  He  is 
bound  to  do  the  same  upon  the  requisition  of  any  member  of  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  35.  He  is  the  proper  person  to  be  applied  to  in  all  matters  relating  to  the 
Burschenschaft. 

§  36.  At  sessions  of  the  board  he  is  to  preserve  quiet  and  good  order,  and  may, 
for  that  purpose,  take  away  the  privilege  of  voting.  In  all  the  business  of  that 
body  he  has  the  precedence,  and  the  first  vote. 

§  37.  The  speaker  is  to  call  meetings  of  the  assembly  of  the  Burschenschaft.  He 
opens  and  closes  them,  maintains  quiet  and  order  in  them,  and  is  to  take  the  lead 
in  the  business. 

§  38.  If  he  is  prevented  from  performing  his  duties,  his  last  predecessor  is  to  sup- 
ply his  place  ;  and,  in  case  of  his  failure,  a  person  chosen  pro  tempore. 

The  Secretary. 

%  39.  The  secretary  is  to  record,  at  sessions  of  the  managing  board,  and  of  the 
assembly  of  the  Burschenschaft,  a  proper  account  of  the  proceedings. 

§  40.  He  has  charge  of  the  archives  of  the  Burschenschaft,  and  is  to  keep  all  their 
papers  in  order. 

§  41.  He  is  to  enter  all  new  laws  in  the  constitution,  and  to  note,  also,  the  repeal 
or  alteration  of  old  ones. 

§  42.  He  is  to  inform  applicants  for  joining  the  Burschenschaft  of  the  established 
mode  of  proceeding. 

§  43.  He  has  charge  of  forwarding  all  letters,  and  authenticates  all  documents 
issued  by  the  managing  board. 

§  44.  In  the  absence  of  the  secretary,  the  historiographer  is  to  supply  his  place. 

Tlte  Treasurer. 

%  45.  The  treasurer  has  the  management  of  all  the  finances  of  the  Burschenschaft, 
and  the  care  of  all  its  housekeeping  arrangements. 
§  46.  The  treasury  of  the  Burschenschaft  is  in  his  charge. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  l7X 

|  47.  He  is  to  render  a  quarterly  account  of  his  official  proceedings  to  the  com- 
mittee, together  with  the  necessary  vouchers. 
§  48.  In  his  absence,  the  steward  is  to  take  his  place. 

The  Manager  of  the  Fencing-room. 

%  49.  He  is  to  supervise  the  fencing  exercises  of  the  members,  and  to  keep  order 
in  the  fencing-room. 

§  50.  He  is,  half-yearly,  to  lay  before  the  managing  board,  an  order  of  fencing 
exercises,  and  must  keep  a  list  of  fighters. 

§  51.  He  is  to  have  charge  of,  and  keep  in  good  order,  all  weapons,  standards,  de- 
fensive apparatus,  and  all  other  such  property  of  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  52.  He  is  to  select  all  witnesses  for  the  Burschenschaft  at  duels. 

The  Manager  of  the  Bur schen- house. 

%  53.  He  has  the  oversight  of  the  Burschen-house ;  and,  accordingly,  all  com- 
plaints, by  and  against  the  landlord  there,  are  to  be  brought  to  him. 

§  54.  He  is  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  in  the  assembly-hall  for  the  as- 
semblies of  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  55.  He  is  to  adjust  the  minor  details  of  the  Commerces,  and  all  other  festivals 
after  consulting,  previously,  with  the  managing  board  respecting  them. 

§  56.  At  the  beginning  of  every  half-year  he  must  lay  before  the  board  a  plan  of 
arrangements  for  Commerces. 

The  Steward. 

%  57.  He  is  to  see  that  the  duties  of  hospitality,  on  the  part  of  the  Burschenschaft, 
toward  Burschen  from  abroad  are  fulfilled,  and  has  charge  of  their  entertainment. 
For  this  purpose  he  is  to  possess  a  list  of  the  dwellings  of  all  the  members  of  the 
Burschenschaft. 

§  58.  He  has  the  care  of  any  Burschen  who  are  ill. 

The   Umpire  of  the  Gymnastic  Council. 
§  59.  He  is  to  attend  at  such  meetings  of  the  council  as  may  take  place. 

Tlte  Historiographer. 
§  60.  He  is  to  keep  the  journal  of  the  Burschenschaft,  and  to  have  the  history  of 
it  written  up  for  presentation  at  the  general  assembly. 

§  61.  At  every  election  of  speaker,  he  is  to  announce  it  to  the  managing  board. 

The  Candidates. 

§  62.  The  candidates  for  the  managership  must  attend  the  sessions  of  the  board, 
and  have  an  advisory  vote  therein.  But  if  acting  members  are  absent,  they  are  to 
take  their  places,  and  to  cast  deciding  votes. 

§  63.  They  are,  also,  to  assist  the  managers  in  the  performance  of  their  duties,  by 
all  proper  means. 

Meeting  of  Managers  and  Course  of  Business. 

§  64  a.  The  sessions  of  the  board  are  of  two  kinds,  viz. : 

1.  Those  in  which  accusations  are  made  against  individuals,  and  the  trials  thence 
arising  are  had. 

2.  Those  in  which  discussions  and  decisions  are  had  upon  the  various  matters 
entered  upon  the  business-book  of  that  session,  as  far  as  they  need  no  further  in- 
vestigation ;  and  generally,  upon  all  other  matters  affecting  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  64  b.  The  penalties  inflicted  are  to  be  executed,  partly  in  private  meetings  of 
the  managing  board,  and  partly  in  public  ones. 

§  65.  Assemblies  of  the  first  kind  are  to  be  held  at  the  speaker's  room,  or  at  some 
other  suitable  place,  to  be  fixed  by  him. 


172 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 


§  66.  These  assemblies  are  to  consist  of  the  speaker,  secretary,  and  two  other 
managers,  who  shall  attend  in  regular  order. 

§  67.  Besides  the  managers,  no  one  is  to  be  present,  except  such  as  are  to  bring 
accusations,  or  to  be  tried;  and  the  latter  only  till  their  business  is  settled. 

§  68.  Except  these  assemblies  of  the  managers,  all  sessions  of  the  managers  are 
public:  that  is,  all  members  of  the  Burschenschaft  may  attend  them,  being  silent. 

§  69.  The  managers  are  to  hold  a  public  meeting,  usually,  every  week,  at  a  fixed 
time ;  when  practicable,  at  the  Burschen-house,  at  which  they  shall  endeavor  to 
transact  any  business  coming  up.  In  urgent  cases,  extraordinary  sessions  may  take 
place,  which  are  to  be  notified  by  handbills,  and  to  which  the  speaker  shall  summon 
the  managers. 

§  70.  Any  one  not  attending  a  meeting,  unless  he  have  a  sufficient  excuse,  of 
which  the  board  is  to  be  the  judge,  and  which  must  be  previously  communicated 
to  the  speaker,  either  orally  or  by  writing,  must  pay  a  fine  of  one  reichstuiler  to  the 
treasury,  and  loses  his  vote  at  that  meeting. 

§  71.  If  a  member,  without  a  sufficient  excuse,  comes  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after 
the  appointed  time,  he  is  to  pay  eight  groschen;  if  half  an  hour,  sixteen  grosehen. 

§  72.  After  the  expiration  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  speaker  is  to  proceed  to 
business. 

§  73.  During  the  meeting  the  speaker  must  have  the  laws  lying  before  him,  in 
order,  in  doubtful  cases,  to  be  able  to  refer  to  them. 

§  74.  The  speaker  has  the  precedence,  and  conducts  the  business.  In  voting,  he 
votes  first,  and  then  calls  upon  the  other  managers,  in  succession.  He,  only,  is 
authorized  to  stop  the  voting,  and  to  recall  attention  to  the  question  under  dis- 
cussion. 

§  75.  In  public  meetings,  the  following  order  of  business  is  usually  to  be  ob- 
served :  First,  the  managers  take  up  the  business-book  of  the  committee  ;  then  the 
trial  book;  and  then  only,  other  oral  or  written  business  may  be  attended  to. 

§  76.  After  the  managers  have  ended  their  deliberations,  the  speaker  is  to  inquire 
of  the  audience  whether  any  of  them  has  any  thing  to  offer.  Until  that  time  they 
must  all  preserve  silence;  and  for  the  decision  of  each  matter,  some  one  must  fur- 
nish new  facts,  not  before  considered,  permission  to  state  which  must  be  given  by 
the  speaker. 

§  77.  At  the  end  of  the  meeting,  the  secretary  must  read  over  the  proceedings. 

§  78.  The  decision  of  the  managing  board,  in  all  matters,  is  made  by  a  majority  vote. 

§  79.  A  public  sitting  can  only  be  held  with  nine  members  present.  If  nine 
managers  are  not  present,  those  who  are  may,  in  very  urgent  cases,  fill  up  their 
number. 

§  80.  At  the  first  session  of  the  new  board,  in  every  half-year,  when  the  offices 
are  apportioned,  the  duties  of  the  board  must  be  read  over  from  the  constitution. 

§  81.  In  the  decision  of  cases,  witnesses,  documents,  and  the  word  of  honor  shall 
be  testimony.  The  witnesses  must  be  two  Burschen  in  good  standing,  and  must 
be  able  to  authenticate  their  testimony  by  their  word  of  honor.  In  cases,  however, 
where  other  testimony  is  wanting,  Philisters  who  are  known  to  the  board  to  have 
such  correct  sentiments  on  the  subject  of  honor  as  to  be  competent  to  give  their 
word  of  honor  upon  any  matter,  may  be  admitted  to  testify. 

§  82.  No  manager  may  give  a  decision  upon  any  affair  which  is  his  own,  or  in 
which  he  is  a  witness.  The  same  rule  is  to  be  observed  in  decisions  by  the  com- 
mittee or  by  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  83.  No  manager  may,  in  the  performance  of  his  duty,  use  insulting  expres- 
sions ;  and  this  is  the  rule  for  all  authorities.  * 

The  Committee. 

§  84.  The  committee  shall  consist  of  twenty-one  acting  members,  and  seven  can- 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  1*73 

didates  for  membership,  who  are  to  be  chosen  half-yearly,  by  the  Burschenschaft, 
for  a  half-year. 

§  85.  The  doings  of  the  committee  have  a  twofold  relation. 

§  86.  As  a  whole,  it  is,  as  a  supervising  authority,  to  observe  that  the  managing 
board  acts  in  conformity  to  the  law,  and  not  beyond  its  authority. 

§  87.  Immediately  upon  observing  any  irregularity  of  this  kind,  it  is  its  right, 
and  its  duty,  to  advise  the  board  of  the  same,  and  if  the  latter  does  not  act  accord- 
ingly, to  bring  the  matter  before  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  88.  The  committee  is  also  to  review  all  decisions  in  cases  not  clearly  and  defi- 
nitely determined  by  the  law,  and  to  approve  or  reject  the  decision  of  the  board 
upon  the  same. 

§  89.  In  order  that  the  committee  may  be  able  to  exercise  its  supervisory  and  ap- 
proving power,  the  business-book  of  the  managing  board  must  be  laid  before  it 
every  week,  with  all  the  papers  relating  to  it.  It  must  also  examine  all  letters  of 
the  managing  board,  before  they  are  dispatched.  It  is,  also,  after  the  board,  to  de- 
cide whether  the  same  shall  be  laid  before  the  Burschenschaft  for  approval  or  not. 

§  90.  The  individual  members  of  the  committee  are  at  the  head  of  the  sections  of 
the  Burschenschaft. 

Apportionment  of  the  Offices. 

%  91.  The  members  of  the  committee  shall  choose,  from  their  own  number,  by  a 
major  vote,  a  speaker  and  a  secretary,  the  latter  for  a  half-year,  and  the  former,  who 
is  not  re-eligible  at  the  end  of  his  term,  for  one  month. 

§  92.  The  speaker  is  to  maintain  quiet  and  order  in  the  meetings  of  the  commit- 
tee, and  to  conduct  their  deliberations. 

|  93.  The  secretary  is  to  have  charge,  in  their  meetings,  of  the  business  book. 

§  94.  In  the  absence  of  the  speaker,  his  last  predecessor,  or  a  substitute  chosen 
for  the  occasion,  shall  supply  his  place. 

§  95.  The  committee  shall  usually  appoint  to  the  headship  of  twenty  sections  of 
the  Burschenschaft,  the  remaiuing  nineteen  members  of  the  committee  and  the  first 
candidate.     The  sections  are  to  be  chosen  for  these  by  lot. 

§  96.  The  candidates  have  advisory  votes  in  the  meetings  of  the  committee.  If 
members  are  absent,  they  take  their  places,  and  have  deciding  votes. 

Meetings  of  the  Committee,  and  their  Business. 

%  97.  The  meetings  of  the  committee  are  public.  The  audience  must  here,  also, 
be  silent,  until  the  speaker,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  business,  shall  give  permission 
to  some  one. 

§  98.  The  committee  shall  meet  weekly,  at  some  fixed  time  (if  possihle  at  the 
Burschen-house),  to  dispose  of  current  business.  In  urgent  cases,  special  meetings 
may  be  called,  which  shall  be  notified  by  public  handbills,  and  to  which  the  speaker 
shall  summon  the  members. 

§  99.  Every  committee-man  absent  from  a  meeting,  without  a  sufficient  excuse, 
which  shall  be  previously  given  to  the  speaker,  either  in  words  or  in  writing,  and 
of  which  the  committee  shall  judge,  shall  pay  a  fine  of  one  reichsthaler  to  the  treas- 
ury. Any  one  a  quarter  of  an  hour  late  shall  pay  eight  groschen ;  and  if  half  an 
hour,  sixteen  groschen. 

§  100.  After  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  the  speaker  shall  commence  the  business,  and 
shall  conduct  it. 

§  101.  During  the  meeting,  the  speaker  must  have  the  constitution  before  him. 

§  102.  In  voting,  the  speaker  shall  give  the  first  vote,  and  shall  then  call  upon  the 
secretary  and  the  rest  of  the  members  in  order.  He,  only,  has  the  right  to  interrupt 
the  voting,  and  call  attention  to  the  question  under  discussion. 

§  103.  At  the  end  of  the  business,  the  speaker  is  to  read  over  the  proceedings. 


174 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 


§  104.  Decisions  shall  be  by  a  major  vote. 

§  105.  In  matters  relating  to  the  individual  sections,  the  secretary  shall  give  to 
the  manager  of  the  section  copies  of  the  proceedings  of  the  board  and  the  commit- 
tee, and  of  all  other  documents  relative  to  them. 

§  106.  At  meetings  of  the  committee,  the  secretary  is  to  collect  the  results  of  votes 
in  the  sections,  and  to  enter  them  in  a  book  kept  for  the  purpose,  in  order  to  hand 
them  over  to  the  managing  board. 

The  whole  Burschenschaft  as  a  Voting  Body. 
£  107.  The  whole  Burschenschaft  decides  upon  cases  to  which  the  authority  in- 
trusted to  the  managing  board  does  not  extend.     It  possesses,  also,  exclusively,  the 
law-making  and  ultimate  judicial  power;  and  appoints  its  own  officers,  by  electing 
them. 

§  108  a.  New  laws,  and  alterations  and  repeals  of  old  ones,  are  examined  and 
discussed  by  it,  and  decided  upon  by  voting.  Such  decision  is,  however,  only  valid 
when  two  thirds  of  the  number  of  votes  are  in  its  favor,  such  two  thirds  to  be  a 
majority  of  the  whole  number  of  voters.  For  instance,  if  there  are  300  members 
entitled  to  vote,  if  all  these  vote,  200  are  necessary  to  adopt  the  law ;  but,  if  a  less 
number  vote,  then  two  thirds  of  their  votes  are  requisite  to  adopt  the  law ;  but  a 
majority  of  all  the  voters,  that  is,  in  this  case  not  less  than  151,  is  necessary. 

§  108  b.  In  other  cases,  where  no  law  is  to  be  determined  upon,  the  Burschen- 
schaft decides  by  a  majority  of  those  actually  voting ;  but  two  thirds  of  all  the  voters 
must  vote  in  all  cases  except  those  in  which  a  majority  of  all  capable  of  voting  is 
concerned. 

§  109.  In  every  case  where  the  managing  board  and  the  committee  differ,  the  de- 
cision is  left  to  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  110.  Any  member  may  appeal  to  the  Burschenschaft  against  any  decision  of  the 
managing  board  which  he  thinks  unjust,  even  if  approved  by  the  committee.  But 
he  must  previously  lay  the  reasons  of  his  opinion  before  the  board  and  committee, 
in  writing;  and  can  not  bring  the  matter  before  the  Burschenschaft  until  such 
reasons  are  rejected.  All  complaints  for  violation  of  duty  by  the  managing  board 
or  committee,  either  by  one  of  them  against  the  other,  or  by  individual  members, 
are  also  to  be  brought  before  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  111.  The  managing  board  must  lay  all  important  letters  before  the  Burschen- 
schaft before  sending  them.  If  one  voice  is  given  against  them,  upon  inquiry,  the 
Burschenschaft  must  decide  on  sending  them  by  a  vote. 

§  112.  All  other  cases,  not  including  the  introduction  of  a  new  law  nor  the  repeal 
of  an  old  one,  whose  decision  does  not  belong  to  the  managing  board,  or  which  the 
latter,  though  authorized  to  act  on  them,  considers  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  de- 
cided by  the  Burschenschaft,  must  also  be  brought  before  that  body  and  decided  by  it. 

§  118.  All  special  taxes  must  be  consented  to  by  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  114.  The  Burschenschaft  must  also  authorize  the  institution  of  special  fes- 
tivities. 

§  115.  Election  of  managing  board  and  committee,  as  well  as  of  all  important  offi- 
cers appointed  temporarily,  must  be  made  by  the  Burschenschaft.  Those  not  pres- 
ent lose  their  votes;  and  for  such  elections  no  fixed  number  of  voters  can  be  set. 
The  accounts  of  such  special  officers  arc  also  to  be  submitted  to  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  116.  The  Burschenschaft  may  act  either  through  assemblies  of  its  separate  sec- 
tions, or  through  general  assemblies. 

Sections  of  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  117.  The  whole  Burschenschaft  is  to  be  divided  into  twenty-one  sections,  which 
are  to  consult  and  vote  upou  propositions  to  be  laid  before  the  whole  body  for  de- 
cision. It  should  hero  be  remarked,  that  in  such  decision,  it  is  not  the  votes  of 
the  sections,  but  those  of  the  individual  members  which  are  counted. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  ]  7/3 

§  118.  The  managing  board  constitutes  one  of  these  sections,  and  the  other  twenty- 
are  to  be  formed  from  the  other  members  of  the  Burschenschaft,  as  follows : 

§  119.  At  the  beginning  of  each  half-year,  four  managers,  to  be  designated  by 
the  board,  shall  divide  the  members  into  four  groups,  aecording  to  their  standing; 
of  Candidates,  Old  Burschen,  Yonng  Burschen.  Foxes.  Each  of  these  four  groups 
they  are  to  divide,  by  lot,  into  twenty  sections  ;  so  that  an  equal  number  of  each 
standing  shall  be  in  each. 

§  120.  If  new  members  are  admitted  into  the  Burschenschaft  during  the  year, 
they  shall  be,  in  like  manner,  apportioned  to  the  sections  by  the  secretary  of  the 
committee. 

§  121.  Each  of  these  twenty  sections  shall,  by  lot,  select  a  committee-man  as 
manager,  who  shall  preside  over  its  meetings,  and  maintain  order  and  quiet  therein. 

§  122.  Each  section  shall  select,  from  among  its  own  number,  a  secretary,  who 
shall  have  charge  of  the  business-book  at  meetings,  shall  record  votes,  read  over  the 
proceedings  at  the  close  of  each  meeting,  and  subscribe  them,  after  the  speaker. 

§  123.  In  the  absence  of  the  speaker,  the  secretary  shall  take  his  place,  the  papers 
to  be  delivered  to  him  by  the  former. 

§  124.  The  speaker  must  have  the  constitution  before  him  during  the  sessions,  in 
order  to  refer  to  them  in  doubtful  cases,  and  especially  in  order  to  assist  individuals 
in  the  knowledge  of  it. 

§  125.  The  meetings  of  the  sections  shall  be  held  as  often  as  is  necessary.  The 
manager  shall  call  together  the  members  of  it  by  public  handbills. 

§  126.  Any  one  absent  without  having  presented  to  the  manager  a  sufficient  ex- 
cuse, to  be  judged  of  by  him,  shall  pay  a  fine  of  eight  groschen;  and  any  one  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  or  more  late,  shall  pay  four  groschen. 

§  127.  No  meeting  shall  be  valid  where  there  are  not  present  two  thirds  of  the 
members  of  the  section. 

§  128.  At  the  first  meeting  of  the  section,  the  portion  of  the  constitution  relative 
to  it  must  be  read. 

Meetings  of  the  whole  Burschenschaft. 

§  129.  The  meetings  of  the  Burschenschaft  are  for  the  following  purposes: 

1.  To  inform  it,  through  its  representatives,  of  whatever  occurrences  are  of  im- 
portance to  it, 

2.  To  submit  motions  to  it,  respecting  laws  or  other  matters. 

8.  To  bring  complaints  for  violations  of  duty  by  the  managing  board  or  com- 
mittee. 

4.  To  make  appointments  and  offer  complaints. 

5.  To  hold  consultations. 

6.  To  vote  upon  proper  matters. 

7.  To  elect  officers. 

8.  To  choose  new  members. 

§  ISO.  The  secretaries  of  the  managing  board  and  committee  must  read,  in  these 
meetings,  the  proceedings  of  those  bodies,  and  the  papers  connected  with  them. 

%  181.  The  first  meeting  in  the  half-year  must  be  held  within  a  fortnight  after  the 
conclusion  of  the  lectures.  The  choice  of  officers  must  be  made  at  this  and  a  sub- 
sequent meeting.  At  the  first  regular  meeting  after  this,  the  sections  relating  to 
meetings  and  to  taxes  must  be  read. 

§  132.  A  meeting  must  be  held,  usually,  every  fourteen  days,  and  special  ones  in 
urgent  cases. 

£  188,  The  call  to  these  meetings  is  to  be  by  a  public  notice  on  the  bulletin-board. 
Every  member  must,  therefore,  examine  the  bulletin-board  daily,  for  notices  re- 
specting the  Burschenschaft.     These  notices  must,  however,  be  put  up  before 


1*6  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

§  134.  Any  one  not  attending  at  the  time  indicated  by  the  call  must  pay  a  fine  of 
eight  groschen.  Excuses  must  be  laid  before  the  speaker  of  the  section,  who  is  to 
judge  of  their  sufficiency. 

§  135.  In  meetings,  the  members  sit  by  sections,  which  are  to  be  numbered  by  the 
manager,  who  will  mark  delinquents.  The  managing  board  will  sit  in  sight  of  the 
assembly,  and  the  committee  one  side  of  it. 

§  136.  Every  one  will  sit  in  the  meeting  with  uncovered  head.  Smoking,  and 
bringing  in  of  dogs  are  strictly  forbidden;  as  are,  also,  all  conversation,  and  expres- 
sions of  approbation  or  displeasure. 

§  137.  For  the  sake  of  good  order,  it  is  necessary  that  all  should  remain  at  the 
meeting  until  the  close  of  it.  Only  urgent  excuses,  to  be  given  to  the  speaker,  can 
form  an  exception. 

§  133.  At  the  end  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  after  the  speaker  has  called  to  order, 
the  meeting  shall  be  opened  with  a  song. 

§  139.  Quiet  and  order  must  be  observed  in  the  meetings.  The  speaker,  and  the 
managers  with  him,  are  to  maintain  the  same. 

§  140.  The  speaker  is  to  direct  the  order  of  business.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
meeting,  he  is  to  announce  the  purpose  of  it. 

§  141.  Every  one  is  entitled  to  express  his  sentiments  in  the  meeting,  being  only 
holden  to  do  so  in  a  manner  respectful  to  the  assembly. 

§  142.  Any  one  desiring  to  speak  must  stand  before  the  meeting,  and  turn  to- 
ward it ;  and  when  he  has  spoken,  return  to  his  place. 

§  143.  No  one  may  interrupt  another,  and  the  speaker  must  reprove  any  one 
doing  so. 

§  144.  It  is  the  right  and  duty  of  the  speaker  to  end  the  discussion  of  a  subject 
when  he  considers  enough  has  been  said  upon  it.  But  he  can  not  forbid  any  one 
complained  of  from  setting  forth  his  grounds  of  justification,  even  if  he  considers 
it  inexpedient,  and  that  the  subject  has  been  sufficiently  discussed. 

§  145.  The  speaker  shall  close  the  meeting  after  inquiring  twice  whether  any  one 
desires  to  speak. 

§  146.  The  time  of  the  meeting  shall  not  be  unreasonably  prolonged.  Two,  or  at 
most,  three  hours  shall  be  the  rule.     Urgent  cases  may  justify  exceptions. 

§  147.  All  persons  being  bound  to  observe  a  proper  respect  for  the  meeting,  all 
insults  between  individuals  are  forbidden.  Any  person  insulted  shall  bring  the 
offense  to  the  notice  of  the  speaker,  who  shall  inquire  of  the  offender  whether  he 
intended  an  insult;  and,  if  such  was  the  case,  he  shall  cause  him  to  retract  it,  and 
shall  administer  to  him  a  public  reprimand.  The  same  rule  shall  be  observed  in 
case  of  personalities  in  the  meetings  of  the  managing  board  or  of  the  committee,  or 
between  the  manager,  as  such,  and  the  audience.  And  the  same  rules  hold  good 
in  the  sections. 

Course  of  Business. 

§  148.  The  proceedings  in  all  matters  relating  to  the  Burschenschaft  shall  be  as 
rapid  as  possible,  as  only  in  that  manner  can  active  life  be  maintained  in  the  Soci- 
ety.    The  following  rules,  as  to  details,  shall  be  observed : 

§  149.  All  matters  in  which  the  committee  must  concur  with  the  managing  board 
shall  be  laid  before  the  former  in  the  business-book  of  the  latter.  If  the  committee 
concurs,  the  decision  takes  effect,  unless  an  appeal  is  lodged  to  the  Burschenschaft 
within  three  days  after  its  announcement.  m 

§  150.  If  the  committee  does  not  concur,  the  matter  is  referred  back  to  the  board 
in  the  business-book  of  the  committee.  The  board  can  then  either  accept  the 
amendment  of  the  committee,  when  the  decision  takes  effect,  or  can  adhere  to  its 
decision  as  first  made,  in  which  case  the  matter  will  be  submitted  to  the  next  as- 
sembly of  the  whole  Burschenschaft. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  1*7 7 

§  151.  In  decisions  to  be  made  by  the  whole  Burschenschtift,  the  following  shall 
be  the  mode  of  proceeding : 

§  152  a.  First,  in  motions  for  new  laws  or  the  repeal  of  old  ones.  These  may  be 
made  either  by  individuals  or  by  the  managing  board.  In  the  former  case,  the 
motion  must  be  laid  before  the  managing  board  in  writing.  The  board  shall  pass 
it,  together  with  its  own  opinion,  over  to  the  committee,  which  shall  also  express 
an  opinion  upon  it.  At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Burschenschaft  the  speaker  shall 
give  notice  of  the  decision.  The  secretary  of  the  committee  shall  also,  in  this  meet- 
ing, cause  the  section  managers  to  enter,  in  their  section-record,  the  motion,  with 
the  opinions  of  the  board  and  the  committee. 

§  152  b.  No  motion  respecting  a  law  can  be  laid  before  the  whole  Society,  which 
is  not  put  into  a  clear  and  legal  form  for  voting  on. 

§  153.  The  managers  of  the  sections  shall  now  lay  the  motion  before  their  sec- 
tions for  consultation.  These  consultations,  being  a  preparation  for  the  general 
consultation,  must  be  completed  between  the  meeting  of  the  Burschenschaft  at 
which  the  subject  was  introduced  and  the  next  one.  The  motion  will  then  be 
brought  before  the  latter. 

§  154.  The  motion  shall  be  voted  upon  in  the  sections.  This  voting  must  be 
finished  before  the  next  meeting  of  the  committee,  the  time  of  which  is  to  be  an- 
nounced by  the  speaker  of  the  committee,  in  the  proper  general  meeting.  At  such 
meeting  of  the  committee,  the  secretary,  to  whom  all  the  section  managers  must 
hand  in  their  business-books,  shall  enter  the  result  of  the  vote  in  a  book  kept  for 
that  purpose,  which  he  shall  pass  over  to  the  managing  board.  The  secretary  of 
the  managing  board  shall  then  enter  the  new  law,  or  the  repeal  or  alteration  of  the 
old,  in  the  constitution,  and  to  lay  it  before  the  next  general  meeting,  from  which 
time  it  goes  into  effect. 

§  155.  All  matters  coming  before  the  Burschenschaft  on  appeal,  whether  by  dis- 
agreement of  the  committee  and  managing  board,  or  on  the  part  of  individuals, 
shall,  in  like  manner,  be  announced  in  the  general  meeting  and  voted  on  in  the 
sections.  In  these  cases  the  voting  may  be  without  discussion  ;  but  otherwise  the 
same  proceedings  are  had  as  in  the  ease  of  new  laws.  The  result  of  the  vote  is  an- 
nounced, at  the  next  general  meeting,  by  the  managing  board.  What  is  decided  by 
the  Burschenschaft  takes  effect  from  its  announcement  by  the  managing  board. 

§  156.  The  same  proceedings  are  to  be  had  in  all  matters  which,  although  not  re- 
specting laws,  still  come  before  the  Burschenschaft  for  decision  through  the  man- 
aging board. 

§  157.  If  one  voice  is  given,  at  the  call  of  the  speaker,  against  the  sending  of  letters 
laid  before  the  Burschenschaft,  the  question  shall  be  discussed,  and  decided  by  vote. 

§  158.  A  decision,  by  vote,  in  the  general  meeting,  may  be  had  upon  all  subjects 
not  admitting  of  delay. 

§  159.  Elections  shall  be  conducted  as  follows  : 

§  160.  In  the  first  meeting  of  the  half-year,  the  speaker  of  the  past  half-year,  or 
another  of  the  managers,  shall  announce  that  a  new  election  is  to  be  held,  and  shall 
remind  the  members  of  the  duty  of  choosing  according  to  their  best  knowledge  and 
convictions.  Ballots,  printed  for  the  purpose,  shall  then  be  distributed  to  the 
voters,  upon  which  they  shall  write,  with  a  clear  description,  the  names  of  their 
candidates,  without  subscribing  their  own  names :  that  is,  twelve  for  the  managing 
board  and  twenty-eight  for  the  committee. 

§  161.  On  a  day  immediately  following,  the  Burschenschaft  shall  convene  again. 
The  letters  of  the  alphabet  shall  then  be  distributed  to  fifty  members,  one  letter  to 
two.  The  speaker,  to  whom  shall  be  joined  a  committee-man,  for  assistance,  shall 
read  the  votes.  The  fifty  members  shall,  upon  their  word  of  honor,  observe  strictly, 
how  often  the  names  beginning  with  their  letters  occur.  The  votes  shall  then  be 
counted,  and  the  result  announced.    The  three  out  of  those  chosen  for  the  manag- 

12 


178  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

ing  board  who  shall  have  the  fewest  votes  shall  be  the  candidates ;  and  in  like  man- 
ner the  seven  of  those  chosen  for  the  committee.  Votes  to  choose  those  members 
of  the  managing  board  who  are  actually  chosen  to  the  committee,  shall  be  counted 
for  them  for  the  latter  place. 

To  avoid  irregularities,  any  one  may  have  the  ballots  preserved  for  reference  to 
the  time  of  the  announcement,  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Burschenschaft,  and  may 
inform  of  any  such  irregularities. 

§  162.  In  case  of  an  equal  number  of  votes  for  several  candidates,  the  lot  shall  de- 
cide among  them  ;  and  the  same  in  all  other  elections. 

§  163.  The  same  mode  of  election  shall  be  followed  in  filling  vacancies  in  the 
board  and  the  committee,  and  at  special  elections. 

§  164.  In  all  cases  where  delay  may  be  injurious  to  the  Burschenschaft,  the 
managing  board,  alone,  shall  make  the  decision ;  but  is  answerable  to  the  Bursch- 
enschaft for  it. 

§  165.  During  vacations,  there  shall  be  formed,  from  any  managers  and  commit- 
tee-men remaining,  a  body,  to  consist  of  at  least  five  members,  and  which,  if  mana- 
gers and  committee-men  can  not  be  found,  shall  complete  its  number  from  any 
members  of  the  Burschenschaft  remaining  in  Jena.  In  important  cases,  this  body 
may  call  meetings  of  such  members  of  the  Burschenschaft  as  remain  in  Jena.  But 
any  decision  by  such  meeting  is  provisory  only,  and  becomes  binding  only  by  vote 
of  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  166.  In  all  matters  for  the  decision  of  which  those  not  members  of  the  Bursch- 
enschaft are  to  be  called  on  to  act  together  with  it,  tbe  business  shall  be  introduced 
by  the  Burschenschaft  before  those  not  members  take  part  in  it.  The  meetings  of 
Burschen  are  to  be  conducted  under  the  same  forms  as  those  of  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  167.  When  any  decision  has  been  lawfully  made,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  managing 
board  to  enforce  the  fullest  and  most  punctual  obedience  to  it. 

Entrance  into  and  Departure  from  the  Bcrschenschaft. 

Acceptance  and  Entrance. 

§  168.  Every  student  at  this  place  may  present  himself  for  admission  into  the 
Burschenschaft. 

§  169.  The  candidate  must  possess  the  following  qualifications: 

a.  He  must  be  a  German  :  that  is,  he  must  speak  German,  and  acknowledge  him- 
self a  German  by  nation. 

b.  He  must  be  a  Christian. 

c.  He  must  be  honorable :  that  is,  there  must  be  no  disgrace  attaching  to  him, 
either  as  a  citizen  or  as  a  Bursch. 

d.  He  must  belong  to  no  association  whose  laws  or  purpose  conflict  with  those  of 
the  Burschenschaft. 

e.  He  must  have  been  a  Bursch  for  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  year. 

§  170.  Burschen  wishing  to  enter  the  Burschenschaft  are  to  apply  to  the  secretary 
of  the  managing  board,  who  shall  record  their  surname  and  given  name,  place  of 
birth,  university  where  and  time  during  which  they  studied. 

§  171.  The  secretary  shall  read  the  names  of  such  candidates  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Burschenschaft,  and  shall  post  them  up  at  the  Burschen-house.  These  steps 
are  to  enable  any  persons  having  objections  to  such  candidates  as  are  deficient  in 
any  of  the  above  requisites,  to  state  them  to  the  managing  board. 

§  172  a.  If  no  such  objection  is  made  within  fourteen  days,  the  constitution  shall 
be  read  to  the  candidates,  by  the  secretary ;  and  if,  upon  inquiry,  they  continue  in 
their  desire  to  enter  the  Burschenschaft  (silence  to  be  taken  as  an  affirmative),  they 
shall  be  admitted  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  172  b.  If  any  objection  is  alleged  to  the  admission  of  a  new  member,  and  any 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  179 

disgraceful  matter  alleged,  the  Burschenschaft  shall  decide,  by  vote,  upon  his  ad- 
mission. 

§  173.  The  proceedings  at  admission  shall  be  as  follows : 

After  an  address  by  the  speaker,  to  the  candidates,  who  shall  be  seated  before  the 
assembly,  the  secretary  shall  read  to  them,  slowly  and  distinctly,  the  form  of  ad- 
mission ;  and  if  they  shall  answer  "Yes"  to  the  questions  therein,  they  shall  give 
their  word  of  honor  to  the  speaker  to  observe  the  conditions  of  the  same. 

§  174.  The  form  of  admission  is  as  follows  : 

"You  stand  before  this  honorable  assembly  to  take  the  joyful  vow  which  shall 
admit  you  into  our  midst.  I,  as  secretary,  ask  you,  N.  N.,  in  the  name  of  the  Jena 
Burschenschaft,  solemnly  and  publicly  : 

"  Do  you  recognize  the  sentiment  and  spirit  which  belong  to  the  provisions  of 
our  constitution?  Do  you  recognize  the  sentiment  and  spirit  which  animate  our 
fundamental  principles,  and  give  them  power  and  form  ?  Do  you  acknowledge 
yourself  a  German  by  nationality  ;  and  do  you  acknowledge  that,  without  a  German 
life — without  a  profound  sympathy  in  the  weal  and  woe  of  our  fatherland— our 
Burschenschaft  can  not  exist  for  its  purposes  ?  Do  you  declare  that,  in  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  the  Jena  Burschenschaft  you  find  your  own  principles ;  that 
you  will,  within  and  withoutthat  society,  with  your  body  and  life,  defend  the  prin- 
ciples and  life  of  the  Burschenschaft;  and  that  as  with  the  Burschenschaft,  so  with 
the  German  people,  you  will  stand  or  fall  ?  Then  give  your  word  of  honor  to  the 
speaker." 

§  175.  By  giving  their  word  of  honor,  the  candidates  become  members  of  the 
Burschenschaft,  and  are,  from  that  time  forward,  to  be  treated  as  such ;  and  are  at 
once  to  be  apportioned,  by  the  secretary  of  the  committee,  to  the  sections. 

Dismission  from  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  176.  A  member  of  the  Burschenschaft  ceases  to  be  such : 

a.  By  being  dismissed  by  the  Burschenschaft. 

b.  By  himself  seeking  a  dismission. 

c.  By  ceasing  to  be  a  student. 

§  177.  A  member  desirous  to  leave  the  Burschenschaft  must  make  written  appli- 
cation, with  his  reasons,  to  the  managing  board. 

§  178.  The  request  having  been  granted  by  the  managing  board  and  the  commit- 
tee, and  having  been  signified  to  him,  he  ceases  to  be  a  member. 

§  179.  Any  one  a  member  of  the  Burschenschaft  at  leaving  the  university,  re- 
mains an  honorary  member  of  it,  unless  himself  renouncing  membership,  or  after- 
ward excluded  for  dishonorable  conduct. 

§  180  a.  Honorary  members  have  all  the  privileges  of  actual  members,  so  far  as 
they  can  be  enjoyed  by  one  not  a  student :  namely,  the  right  of  taking  part  in  the 
meetings  of  the  Burschenschaft,  and  of  casting  deliberative  votes  ;  of  participating 
in  all  the  festivities  of  the  Burschenschaft,  &c. ;  also,  the  right  of  hospitality,  and 
other  aid  from  the  Burschenschaft,  so  far  as  they  can  give  it.  He  must,  however, 
also  undertake  all  the  responsibilities  which  the  enjoyment  of  those  rights  implies. 

§  180  b.  All  those  leaving  Jena  as  members  of  the  Burschenschaft  shall  be 
solemnly  dismissed  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Burschenschaft.  The  details  of  the 
occasion  shall  be  arranged  by  the  managing  board. 

Relations  of  Individual  Members  to  the  Burschenschaft  and  to  each  other. 

Rights  and  Duties. 

Relation  to  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  181.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  member  to  watch  over  the  honor  and  reputation  of 

the  Burschenschaft  as  over  his  own  honor;  and  everywhere,  as  much  as  in  him 

lies,  to  promote  its  unity  and  prosperity. 


180  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

§  182.  Fall  and  punctual  obedience  to  all  the  laws  is  a  fundamental  principle  of 
the  Bursehenschaft ;  for  that  body  can  only  exist  as  a  whole,  and  accomplish  its 
purposes,  by  strict  order. 

§  183.  Every  member  unconditionally  recognizes  the  decisions  of  the  Bursehen- 
schaft as  binding  laws,  whether  they  were  opposed  by  debate  and  vote  or  not. 

§  184.  Every  one  must  quietly  submit  to  whatever  punishment  may  be  inflicted 
upon  him  according  to  law. 

§  185.  Every  member  must,  so  far  as  time  and  circumstances  permit  him,  assist 
in  every  thing  directed  by  the  Bursehenschaft  as  a  whole. 

§  186.  Every  member  is  bound  to  assume  every  office  to  which  he  is  elected,  and 
all  its  rights  and  duties.  If  there  are  reasons  not  permitting  him  to  perform  the 
duties  of  the  office,  he  must  lay  the  evidence  thereof  before  the  managing  board 
for  examination;  but  during  the  examination  he  must  perform  the  duties  of  the 
place,  since  his  election  renders  this  necessary. 

§  187.  Every  member  must  obey  the  officers  of  the  Bursehenschaft  so  long  as 
they  do  not  exceed  their  authority. 

§  188.  Especially  strict  obedience  is  due  to  the  decisions  of  the  managing  board 
and  of  the  committee,  unless  an  appeal  is  to  be  legally  brought  to  the  Bursehen- 
schaft. 

§  189.  If  any  officer  has  exceeded  his  authority,  and  thereby  doue  injustice  to 
any  one,  information  must  be  given  to  the  managing  board. 

§  190.  Every  member  is  bound  to  inform  the  managing  board  of  any  gross  viola- 
tion of  the  constitution  or  code  of  customs ;  and  no  performance  of  this  duty  can 
subject  him  to  the  charge  of  tale-telling. 

§  191.  All  members  are  bound  not  to  mention  publicly,  that  is,  in  the  presence  of 
Philister,  any  matters  whose  publicity  might  be  dangerous  to  the  Bursehenschaft ; 
for,  though  that  body  is  by  no  means  a  secret  society,  it  can  not  proceed  entirely 
without  some  operations  not  public. 

§  192.  Every  member  has,  in  all  circumstances,  the  fullest  right  to  the  most 
powerful  and  active  assistance  from  the  Bursehenschaft  which  it  can  afford. 

Belations  of  the  Members  to  each  other. 

%  193.  The  relations  of  the  members  to  each  other  are  altogether  equal;  and  no 
appearance  of  gradation  of  rank  can,  at  any  time,  be  allowed. 

§  194.  All  difference  of  birth  is  put  entirely  out  of  the  account ;  and  every  mem- 
ber is  holden  to  consider  the  rest  as  his  brothers,  seeking  a  common  object  with 
him. 

§  195.  In  order  to  mark  the  closeness  of  their  bond  of  unity  and  brotherhood,  all 
the  members  shall  use,  to  each  other,  the  pronoun  "  thou." 

§  196.  For  this  reason  every  member  is  bound,  in  duels,  to  obtain  a  second  and  a 
witness  from  the  Bursehenschaft. 

§  197.  The  only  difference  to  be  recognized  among  members  of  the  Bursehen- 
schaft is  that  which  greater  or  less  experience  naturally  occasions.  Accordingly, 
the  members  do  not  possess  deciding  votes  in  the  Bursehenschaft  until  the  second 
half-year  of  their  life  as  students. 

§  198.  No  member  can  be  chosen  manager  until  the  third  half-year  of  his  student- 
life,  nor  committee-man  until  the  second. 

§  199.  But  these  distinctions  shall  not  occasion  any  younger  member  to  be  reck- 
oned inferior  to  an  older ;  for  it  is  only  individual  excellence,  not  years'  standing, 
which  can  be  alleged  in  favor  of  members. 

Violation  of  Laws. — Punishments. 

§  200.  The  Bursehenschaft  shall  punish  in  its  capacity  as : 

1.  Upholder  of  the  code  of  customs  ;  inasmuch  as  it  visits  with  a  penalty  every 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  181 

infraction  of  the  code,  and  declares  the  loss  of  honor  or  "disgrace"  (vern/f),  pro- 
nounced by  the  code,  to  be  incurred  by  students  guilty  of  dishonorable  practices. 

§  201.  2.  An  association  ;  in  which  capacity  it  must  protect  itself  against  violations 
of  its  laws  by  members,  and  must,  for  that  purpose  exercise  its  judicial  authority 
over  them. 

§  202.  Punishments  for  violations  of  the  laws  of  the  Burschenschaft  are  either 
fines  or  loss  of  honor. 

§  203.  Fines  are  inflicted  for  unpunctuality  at  meetings  and  at  the  fencing-room. 
Details  are  given  in  their  appropriate  places. 

§  204  a.  All  fines  must  be  paid  before  the  first  of  the  following  month.  Any  one 
then  unable  to  pay  must  fix  a  term  of  payment,  upon  his  word  of  honor,  which 
must  not  be  more  than  four  weeks. 

§  204  b.  Every  manager  of  a  section,  or  of  the  fencing-room,  is  bound  to  collect 
all  fines  due,  and  is  holden  for  them  if  he  neglects  to  do  so ;  and  he  must  hand  them 
over,  monthly,  to  the  treasurer. 

§  205.  Punishments  by  loss  of  honor  are  as  follows  : 

1.  Admonition,  by  the  speaker,  for  neglect  of  duty. 

2.  Reproof  and  censure  in  proportion  to  the  fault. 

a.  Before  the  managing  board,  privately. 

b.  Before  the  same,  publicly. 

c.  Before  the  meeting  of  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  206.  The  speaker  shall  administer  all  reproofs,  after  they  are  approved  by  the 
managing  board ;  and  in  the  terms  which  he  uses  to  characterize  the  fault  he  must  use 
no  insulting  expressions  ;  for  a  judicial  officer  can  not  be  supposed  to  intend  insult. 

§  207.  3.  Expulsion  from  the  Burschenschaft  may  take  place  when  the  conduct  of 
a  member  has  rendered  him  unworthy  to  remain  such :  that  is, 

a.  When  a  member  has  incurred  the  penalty  of  disgrace ; 

b.  Or  when  he  has  committed  a  transgression  for  which  disgrace  is  not  the 
proper  punishment. 

§  208.  4.  Disgrace  is  incurred  by  any  member  asserting  any  thing  disrespectful 
to  the  Burschenschaft;  either  by  insulting  the  whole  Society,  or  the  managing 
board  and  committee,  or  by  opposing  himself  to  the  decisions  of  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  209.  All  these  punishments  are  either 

1.  Prescribed  by  law  for  fixed  cases  of  misconduct;  in  which  case  the  managing 
board  inflicts  them  as  prescribed  ;  and  in  cases  where  it  does  not  recognize  an  ex- 
culpation as  sufficient,  an  appeal,  as  hereinbefore  provided,  may  be  brought  to  the 
Burschenschaft.  t 

§  210.  Or, 

2.  No  fixed  cases  are  prescribed  for  their  infliction.  In  such  case  the  managing 
board,  with  the  approval  of  the  committee,  inflicts  admonition  or  reproof;  against 
which  an  appeal  lies  to  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  211.  The  whole  Burschenschaft  must  decide,  by  major  vote,  upon  the  expulsion 
of  any  member,  at  the  instance  of  the  managing  board,  in  cases  where  the  laws  do 
not  expressly  prescribe  that  penalty. 

Finances. — Treasury. 

§  212.  The  managing  board  has  control  of  the  finances. 
§  213.  The  sources  of  income  of  the  treasury  are  three: 

a.  Half-yearly  taxes. 

b.  Special  assessments. 

c.  Fines  accruing. 

§  214.  The  following  are  the  regulations  for  levying  taxes  : 

§  215.  Every  member  must  pay  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  of  his  income,  whose 
amount  he  must  state,  on  his  word  of  honor,  at  his  entrance  into  the  Burschen- 


182  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

schaft ;  but  those  having  an  annual  income  of  lees  than  a  hundred  thalers  are  free 
from  all  regular  taxes.  But  all  free  tables  and  stipends  must  be  included  in  the 
stated  amount  of  yearly  income. 

§  216.  For  the  sake  of  good  order,  the  fixed  taxes  must  be  paid  half-yearly,  in  ad- 
vance ;  and  the  last  day  of  May  for  the  summer  term,  and  the  last  of  December  for 
the  winter  term,  are  fixed  as  the  terms  at  or  before  which  every  member  must  pay. 
But  as  it  may  happen  that  members  may  be  unable  to  pay  at  that  time,  the  treasurer 
may  fix  a  further  term,  not  to  exceed  six  weeks  after  the  above,  at  which  such 
members  must  give  their  word  of  honor  to  pay. 

§  217.  Any  one  not  paying  at  the  fixed  time,  and  not  appointing  any  term  of  ex- 
tension, shall  be  expelled  from  the  Burschenschaft. 

§  218.  At  payment,  every  member  shall  receive  a  voucher  from  the  treasurer. 

§  219.  In  order  that  no  blameworthy  carelessness  may  subject  any  member  to  the 
penalty  of  disgrace  for  a  breach  of  his  word  of  honor,  this  law  relating  to  taxes  shall 
be  read  in  the  first  regular  Burschen  meeting  of  each  half-year,  and  the  speaker 
shall,  at  such  time,  remind  the  assembly  of  the  obligations  of  the  word  of  honor. 

§  220.  Special  taxes,  when  necessary,  shall  be  laid  by  the  managing  board,  and 
assented  to  by  the  Burschenschaft.  These  taxes  must  be  paid  by  every  member, 
even  by  those  having  less  than  a  hundred  thalers  income.  Such  taxes,  when  small 
shall  fall  equally  upon  all  members ;  but,  if  of  importance,  shall  be  apportioned  ac- 
cording to  income.  The  latest  term  allowed  for  their  payment  shall  be  fixed,  on 
the  word  of  honor,  at  fourteen  days  after  consent  by  the  Burschenschaft ;  but  for 
taxes  falling  heavily  on  individuals,  they  may  be  permitted  a  further  respite. 

Fencing  and  other  Exercises. 
Fencing-room. 

§  221.  The  Burschenschaft  shall  have  a  fencing-room  for  its  own  use. 

§  222.  Every  member  of  the  Burschenschaft  is  bound  to  attend  at  the  room  four 
times  a  week,  on  fixed  days,  and  at  fixed  hours.  Exceptions  can  only  be  made  in 
favor  of  those  in  their  last  half-year,  or  those  whose  circumstances  make  it  impos- 
sible, of  which  proof  must  be  laid  before  the  managing  board. 

§  223.  Every  member  has  the  right  to  require  fencing  practice ;  and  every  one 
who  can  fence  is  bound  to  do  so. 

§  224.  Every  member  must  keep  his  fencing  apparatus  in  good  order,  that  there 
may  be  no  intermission  in  the  practicing. 

§  225.  Any  one  injuring  the  fencing  apparatus  of  another,  is  bound  to  have  it,  at 
once,  put  in  good  order  again,  and  the  possessor  is  not  thereby  to  lie  under  the  ac- 
cusation even  of  the  shadow  of  selfishness. 

§  226.  All  instruction  from  any  third  party  is  forbidden ;  and  only  the  master 
shall  instruct  the  scholars. 

§  227.  At  the  designated  hours,  managers  shall  have  charge  of  the  fencing-room, 
shall  keep  it  in  order,  make  out  lists  of  delinquents,  and  collect  fines. 

§  228.  Further  details  shall  be  left  to  the  managing  board,  who  shall  determine 
them  half-yearly,  in  the  fencing  regulations. 

Gymnastics. 

%  229.  The  gymnasium  is  under  the  protection  of  the  Burschenschaft.  All  fur- 
ther details  and  arrangements  shall  be  made  by  those  exercising,  with  reference  to 
the  exercises. 

§  230.  A  manager  shall  always  sit  in  the  council  for  gymnastics. 

§  231.  The  regulations  for  exercising  shall  be  laid,  by  the  gymnastic  council,  be- 
fore the  managing  board  and  committee  for  approval.  If  this  is  withheld,  they  must 
be  changed,  unless  the  gymnastic  council  choose  to  proceed  entirely  without  con- 
nection with  the  Burschenschaft.  The  maintenance  of  the  regulations  approved  by 
that  body,  is  guaranteed  by  it. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  183 

§  232.  In  winter,  the  swinging  exercises  shall  be  practiced  in  the  fencing-rooms, 
at  hours  when  they  will  not  interfere  with  the  fencing. 

BURSCHEN-HOUSE. 

§  233.  As  a  common  Burschen-house  is  a  principal  means  of  closer  union,  har- 
mony, and  social  intercourse,  it  is  incumbent  upon  every  member  to  frequent  it  as 
much  as  possible. 

§  234.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  managing  board  to  provide  such  a  one,  and  to  fit  it 
up  properly  for  the  accommodation  of  the  students. 

§  235.  All  festivities  relative  to  the  Burschenschaft  shall  be  held  in  the  Burschen- 
house,  if  there  is  room  sufficient. 

§  236.  All  public  meetings  of  the  managing  board,  committee,  and  Burschen- 
schaft shall  be,  if  possible,  held  at  the  Burschen-house. 

§  237.  Above  all  things,  a  retiring-room  must  be  provided  at  the  Burschen-house, 
and  kept  in  good  order. 

§  238.  That  the  Burschen-house  may,  at  all  times,  be  in  good  reputation,  every 
member  pledges  himself,  upon  his  word  of  honor,  to  the  regular  payment  of  the 
landlord. 

Public  Festivities. 

§  239.  Public  festivities  by  students  are  either  : 

a.  By  the  Burschenschaft,  and  therefore  general ;  or, 

b.  By  individuals ;  in  which  case  the  details  of  arrangements,  as  far  as  not  re- 
pugnant to  the  Burschenschaft,  are  entirely  left  to  the  undertakers. 

§  240.  The  Burschenschaft  shall  arrange  commerces,  festive  processions,  funer- 
als, &c. 

§  241.  Regular  commerces  shall  be,  a  Fox  commerce,  at  the  beginning  of  each 
half-year ;  a  commerce  at  the  change  in  the  protectorate,  and  a  farewell  commerce 
at  the  end  of  the  half-year.  The  manager  of  the  Burschen-house  may,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  board,  arrange  as  many  smaller  commerces  as  he  chooses. 

§  242.  Further  details  relative  to  the  commerces  shall  be  contained  in  the  com- 
merce regulations,  which  the  manager  shall  give  out  half-yearly. 

§  243.  Great  and  general  festivals  shall  be  celebrated  as  follows : 

On  the  18th  of  June,  in  memory  of  the  founding  of  our  Burschenschaft  and  of 
the  battle  of  Belle  Alliance ;  also  as  a  memorial  festival  of  all  the  fraternity  of 
Burschenschaften  ;  and  the  18th  of  October,  by  this  Burschenschaft,  unless  cele- 
brated by  the  general  meeting  of  all  the  Burschenschafts,  in  memory  of  the  battle  of 
Leipzig,  and  of  the  first  union  of  all  the  German  Burschen  in  the  General  German 
Burschenschaft. 

§  244.  The  Burschenschaft  must  order  other  special  festivities. 

§  245.  The  details  of  such  festivals  shall  be  left  to  the  managing  board,  with  con- 
sent of  the  committee,  as  shall  the  designation  of  the  officers  of  them.  Managers 
and  committeemen  have  a  prior  right  to  be  appointed  such  officers. 

§  246.  Every  member  is  bound  to  take  part  in  all  the  festivities  of  the  Burschen- 
schaft, as  far  as  possible,  and  to  observe  the  regulations  made  for  order  on  such 
occasions. 

VI.  Answers  of  the  German  Universities  to  the  Jena  Burschenschaft. 

Berlin,  August  25,  1817. 
Greeting  : — 

Dear  Brothers :— We  will  willingly  contribute,  according  to  our  ability,  to  the 
festival  of  October  18.  Many  of  our  number  have  already  departed  ;  but  we  shall 
Bend  some  deputies  to  the  Wartburg,  and  shall  inform  all  the  students  here,  in 
order  that  any  one  who  desires  it  may  be  present.  A  song  will  be  sent  as  soon  as 
possible.    And  so  adieu. 


184  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

Erlangen,  August  23, 1817. 
Greeting  : — 

Dear  Friends : — On  the  19th  of  August  we  received  your  most  welcome  invitation 
to  the  Wartburg.  In  regard  to  this  festival  of  October  18th,  we  are  profoundly  de- 
lighted that  the  wish  which  we  entertained,  even  before  it  occurred  to  you,  is  al- 
ready fnl filled.  We  think  it  altogether  good  and  judicious  to  have  chosen  the  18th 
of  October  instead  of  the  31st,  for  the  time  when  the  German  Burschen  from  most 
of  the  German  Universities  are  to  learn  to  know  and  love  each  other  ;  and  the  order 
of  exercises,  also,  seems  to  us  judiciously  arranged,  as  not  only  providing  for  our 
own  enjoyment,  as  Burschen,  but  as  not  neglecting  the  worship  of  God,  whose  bless- 
ing is  the  first  requisite  to  all  that  is  good.  Your  friendly  invitation  is  right  wel- 
come to  us,  and  several  of  us  will  have  the  greatest  pleasure  in  accepting  it ;  we 
only  hope  most  earnestly  that  a  similar  one  has  been  sent  to  all  the  Burschen  of  our 
country,  in  order  that  perhaps  a  larger  number  from  among  us  may  clearly  demon- 
strate and  comprehend  the  great  and  glorious  movements  now  in  progress  on  Ger- 
man land,  and  among  German  Burschen ;  of  which  we  can  certainly  afford  no 
sufficient  representation. 

If  any  one  shall  be  found  among  us  able  to  furnish  a  song  for  the  festival,  we  will 
send  it  to  you  as  early  as  possible. 

In  pleasure  at  the  coming  gathering. 

Giessen,  September  3,  1817. 

Friends  and  Brothers  : — Your  friendly  invitation  to  the  celebration  of  the  jubilee 
of  the  Reformation  was  welcome  to  us ;  and  we  count  much  upon  this  united  festi- 
val to  promote  the  uniting  together  of  the  various  German  Universities. 

According  to  the  plan  proposed,  all  of  our  number  who  will  take  part  in  the  fes- 
tival, will  be  in  Eisenach  on  the  17th  of  October. 

We  all  find  the  arrangements  for  the  festival  appropriate  and  good  ;  and  certainly 
no  one  can  fail  to  be  impressed  with  its  liberal  and  magnanimous  spirit.  But  you 
will,  without  doubt,  agree  with  us,  that  at  this  celebration  in  remembrance  of  so 
noble  a  deed  of  a  free  spirit,  any  powerfully  spoken  word  for  our  fatherland  and 
union  in  it,  must  do  good.  To  this  end  we  are  of  opinion  that  no  one  who  feels 
himself  impelled  thereto,  should  be  prevented,  either  by  previous  arrangements  or 
any  other  means,  from  delivering  his  views  in  a  public  address.  There  will  be  suf- 
ficient time,  after  the  close  of  the  festivities  to  which  you  have  invited  us,  which 
can  not  be  better  occupied. 

Whether  any  song  will  be  received  from  us,  we  can  not  inform  you  in  advance, 
as  it  depends  on  certain  individuals,  who  will  care  for  the  seasonable  sending  of  it 
to  you. 

Gottingen,  August  22,  1817. 
In  relation  to  the  friendly  invitation  to  a  general  festival  of  Burschen,  on  the  18th 
of  October,  at  the  Wartburg,  we  are  very  much  pleased  with  it ;  and  believe  it  will 
be  universally  recognized  as  very  expedient  for  the  Burschen  of  the  various  German 
Universities,  an  opportunity  being  given,  to  become  acquainted  with  each  other. 
For  this  purpose  we  shall  send  a  number  of  representatives,  and  as  many  other 
Burschen  will  be  present  as  shall  be  able.  To  that  end  we  shall  seek  to  make  this, 
our  resolution,  known,  as  far  as  possible,  to  the  remaining  Burschen. 

Heidelberg,  September  6,  1817. 
Greeting,  and  a  German  grasp  of  the  hand  : — 

Dear  Friends  and  Brothers :— We  have  been  so  much  occupied  with  various  mat- 
ters as  to  be  unable  to  return  an  earlier  answer  to  your  welcome  letter.  Do  not, 
therefore,  be  vexed  at  this  somewhat  late  answer,  as  it  was  rendered  necessary  by 
external  circumstances  ;  and  receive  the  assurance  of  our  truest  love  and  solicitude 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  185 

for  your  welfare.  May  heaven  bless  our  united  endeavors  to  form  one  people,  filled 
with  paternal  and  brotherly  virtues,  and  whose  love  and  harmony  may  make  up  for 
mutual  weaknesses  and  faults.  We  reciprocate  your  German  goodness  of  heart 
with  like  feelings,  and  hope  that  by  means  of  those  who  shall  follow  our  example, 
this  divine  union  will  be  destroyed  by  no  dissension. 

The  invitation  to  Eisenach,  for  October  18th,  has  exceedingly  pleased  us.  This 
appropriate  and  lofty  festival,  the  birthday  of  faith  and  of  freedom,  will  be  the  day 
of  the  foundation  of  love  for  us.  It  is  unfortunate  that  so  many  of  our  much-be- 
loved brethren  have  departed  in  various  directions ;  some  home,  and  some  to  other 
universities.  This  will  deprive  us  of  many  ornaments,  and  you  of  the  pleasure  of 
knowing  them.  But,  of  those  who  remain,  a  part  will  come  without  fail;  who  are 
delighted,  in  advance,  with  this  glorious  festival,  and  with  the  personal  brotherhood 
of  those  of  congenial  minds. 

In  case  any  songs  should  be  composed  by  us,  we  will  forward  them  to  you. 

Leipzig,  August  30,  1817. 
Friendly  Greeting  : — 

Dear  Brothers: — You  here  receive  the  required  answer  to  your  friendly  letter  of 
the  11th  of  this  month,  in  which  you  advise  us  of  your  intention  to  celebrate,  in  a 
festive  manner,  the  jubilee  of  the  Reformation,  in  connection  with  the  festival  of 
the  battle  of  Leipzig,  on  the  18th  of  October,  at  the  Wartburg,  near  Eisenach,  and 
invite  us,  in  a  friendly  manner,  to  this  celebration.  The  worthy  celebration  of  a 
time  in  many  respects  so  memorable  and  inspiring  to  every  German,  and  the  pro- 
posed festive  assembly  therefor,  of  so  many  German  Burschen,  has  our  entire  ap- 
probation, and  we  thankfully  accept  your  invitation.  Only,  we  are  grieved  that  we 
can  not  answer  it  as  numerously  as  we  should  have  wished,  because  the  18th  of 
October  comes  in  our  vacation,  when  nearly  all  of  our  students  have  left  Leipzig, 
most  of  them  having  gone  home,  perhaps  to  the  furthest  province  of  Saxony.  We 
have,  therefore,  in  a  general  assembly  of  22d  August,  determined,  "  to  send  a  depu- 
tation of  from  four  to  six  Burschen  to  Eisenaoh  on  the  18th  of  October  of  this  year, 
in  the  name  of  the  Leipzig  Burschen,  to  take  part  in  the  gathering  of  the  Burschen 
of  all  the  German  Universities,  who  are  to  assemble  there  to  celebrate  the  jubilee 
of  the  Reformation  and  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Leipzig." 

Our  deputies,  and  the  other  Leipzig  students  who  are  to  take  part  in  the  celebra- 
tion will,  agreeably  to  your  wish,  be  in  Eisenach  on  the  17th  of  October.  We  will 
also  provide  that  a  song  appropriate  to  the  day  shall  be  composed  and  sent  in  good 
season. 

Hoping  that  we  have  thus  satisfied  your  wishes,  we  bid  you  farewell. 

Marburg,  September  2,  1817. 
To  all  our  Brothers  and  Friends  at  Jena,  a  friendly  greeting  : — 

Even  before  we  received  your  invitation,  several  of  our  Burschen  had  determined 
to  celebrate  the  18th  of  October,  the  day  of  so  many  new  institutions,  at  the  memo- 
rable Wartburg.  For  this  reason  we  have,  with  the  more  pleasure,  accepted  your 
invitation,  and  have  determined,  in  any  case,  to  send  some  deputies  (whom,  how- 
ever, the  favorable  opinion  of  such  a  Burschen  festival  will  cause  to  be  attended  by 
several  companions),  to  this  gathering  of  the  German  Burschen.  We  hope  that  the 
spirit  of  German  patriotism  and  freedom  will  prevail,  and,  treading  down  all  party 
spirit,  will  insure  us  a  prosperous  issue. 

We  wish  you  all  good  fortune. 

Rostock,  September  2,  1817. 
Schmollis,  Gentlemen  : — 

We  have  received  your  friendly  letter  of  August  11th,  and  hasten  to  send  you 
Our  answer. 


186  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

VI.  M  Dr.  Bahbdt  with  the  Iron  Forehead  ;  or,  the  German  Union  against 

ZlMAfERMANN." 

(From  the  Universal  German  Library,  vol.  112,  part  1,  p.  213,  Ac.) 
"  Of  the  work  itself  we  shall  say  nothing.  All  Germany  is  agreed  that  it  was  a 
shameful  blemish  upon  German  literature,  and  surpassed  every  thing  that  could 
be  imagined  for  contemptibleness  and  malignant  defamation.  The  most  completely 
shameful  and  entirely  unpardonable  invention  of  all,  was  placing  the  name  of  Herr 
Von  Knigge  upon  the  title-page  of  this  lampoon  as  its  author.  Any  one  capable  of  per- 
mitting himself  this  base  contrivance  must  have  destroyed  all  his  own  appreciation  of 
honesty.  Not  only  to  print  the  most  outrageous  calumnies,  the  most  vulgar  insults, 
but  to  publish  the  name  of  an  innocent  man  as  author  !  This  was  going  very  far !" 
"The  work  "Bahrdt  with  the  Iron  Forehead,"  excited,  everywhere,  the  greatest 
displeasure.  So  much  susceptibility  to  honor  and  honesty  was  left  in  Germany, 
that  such  a  vulgar  attack  upon  respectable  people,  must,  of  necessity,  be  every- 
where abhorred.  This  composition  was,  moreover,  of  such  an  atrocious  nature 
that  curiosity  was  excited  as  to  where  it  could  have  originated.  Still,  the  author 
would,  perhaps,  not  have  become  known,  and  this  vile  production  would  have  sunk 
still  sooner  into  the  profound  oblivion  where  all  such  contemptible  and  vulgar  writ- 
ings soon  sink,  had  not  a  remarkable  judicial  investigation  (by  the  Hanoverian  Chan- 
cery of  Justice),  been  set  on  foot  to  discover  the  author.* 

"This  commission,  little  by  little,  found  out  that  the  lampoon  was  printed  at 
Graiz,  in  Voigtland.  This,  of  course,  led  to  tracing  the  person  from  whom  the 
publisher  received  the  manuscript.  At  this  point  Von  Kotzebue,  to  conceal  himself, 
had  recourse  to  a  means  of  protection  which  no  man  could  have  permitted  himself 
to  use,  unless  he  had  already  issued  so  shameful  a  lampoon  upon  so  many  reputable 
persons.  That  is,  he  undertook  to  help  himself  out  with  a  threefold  false  testimony. 
Counselor  Schultz,  of  Mietau,  having  been  in  Weimar  at  the  same  time  with  Von 
Kotzebue,  at  the  request  of  the  latter,  engaged  the  engraving  of  the  vignette,  which 
was,  in  itself,  good  enough,  with  the  copperplate  engraver  Lips,  and  caused  his  sec- 
retary to  transcribe  the  MS.  He  gives  his  word  that  he  received  it,  and  returned  it, 
together  with  the  copy,  unread  ;  a  statement  which  the  circumstances  render  proba- 
ble. A  traveler  accidentally  saw  a  copy  of  the  engraving  in  the  possession  of  Herr 
Lips,  and  this  gentleman,  who  was  wholly  innocent  in  the  matter,  and  who  knew 
nothing  of  the  purpose  of  the  vignette,  mentioned,  incidentally,  by  whom  it  had 
been  put  into  his  hands.  This  came  to  the  knowledge  of  Kotzebue,  who  feared  a 
judicial  summons  to  Mietau,  which  he  afterward  did,  in  fact,  receive.  He  therefore 
wrote  in  great  trouble,  to  Herr  Councilor  Schultz,  requesting  him,  if  he  should  be 
called  upon  to  testify,  not  to  tell  the  truth,  but  to  state  that  he  had  received  his 
commission  from  Herr  Gauger,  a  bookseller  in  Dorpat.  He  added  the  assurance 
that  he  would  furnish  him  an  ante-dated  letter  from  this  Herr  Gauger,  in  which  the 
affair  should  be  put  into  his  hands  accordingly,  and  this  letter  he  was  to  lay  before 
the  court  as  testimony.  This,  therefore,  constituted  a  double  false  witness.  But 
not  content  with  this,  he  prevailed  upon  a  man  in  Beval  (by  means  best  known  to 
himself),  by  the  name  of  Schlegel,  to  state  that  he  was  the  author  of  "Bahrdt  with 
the  Iron  Forehead?*1  and  to  authenticate  this  falsehood  to  be  the  truth  by  declaring  it 
before  an  imperial  notary  public.  This  false  explanation  is  printed  in  No.  14  of  the 
work,  and  has  appended  the  act  of  the  imperial  notary  before  whom  Schlegel  de- 
clared this  fulsehood  true." 

*  This  was  caused  by  the  Hanoverian  Klockenbring,  who  had  been  vilely  attacked  in  the 
work.  This  writer,  "  who  had  been  a  deserving  servant  to  the  Hanoverian  government,  and  a 
useful  author,  was  so  much  affected  by  the  attack  as  to  fall  into  a  dangerous  mental  condition. 
4  Woe  to  the  author,'1  says  the  writer  in  the  Universal  German  Library,  'who  has  upon  his 
conscience  such  consequences  from  his  writings.1 " 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  187 

M  But  the  affair  did  not  take  the  turn  which  Von  Kotzebue  intended.  In  spite  of 
the  notarial  instrument  no  one  was  deceived,  for  a  moment,  into  thinking  Sehlegcl 
the  author  of  the  pasquinade.  It  was,  indeed,  stated  in  the  Jena  Gazette  of  Litera- 
ture (Schlegel  had  studied  at  Jena),  that  he  was  not  capable  of  producing  the  work. 
Councilor  Schultz  had  also  already  indignantly  refused  the  request  that  he  would 
bear  false  witness.  To  prove  his  intention,  he  sent  the  original  letter,  in  which 
Von  Kotzebue  had  asked  him  to  be  guilty  of  this  crime,  to  a  friend,  and  related,  in 
a  letter  to  him,  the  true  course  of  the  affair  from  the  beginning.  He  requested  this 
friend  to  permit  any  person  to  whom  these  letters  could  be  interesting,  to  read  them. 

"But  Kotzebue  found  that  all  these  base  expedients  would  not  avail  him,  and  he 
finally  decided,  on  the  24th  of  December,  1791,  to  declare,  publicly,  in  the  newspa- 
pers, that  he  was  the  author  of  the  scandalous  production." 

VII.  Substance  of  the  Tubingen  "Statutes  for  the  Formation  of  a  Students' 

Committee."* 

"  These  statutes  recognize  order,  quiet,  and  good  morals,  as  properly  required  of 
the  students,  especially  by  means  of  voluntary  co-operation  on  their  own  part,  and 
in  particular  on  the  part  of  such  of  their  number  as  have  the  confidence  of  all.  The 
substantial  part  of  them  is  as  follows  : 

"The  committee  consists  of  fifteen  members,  chosen  freely  from  the  whole  body 
of  students.  Its  duties  are,  to  communicate  the  wishes  of  the  students  to  the  aca- 
demical authorities,  and  to  consult  with  them  as  to  the  practicability  and  mode  of 
accomplishing  them.  In  case  of  any  injury  to  any  student,  as  such,  they  are  to  ap- 
ply to  the  authorities  for  assistance.  If  the  disciplinary  authorities  have  occasion 
to  give  warnings  to  the  students,  it  reports  them  to  the  committee,  that  it  also  may 
give  a  warning.  In  case  of  severer  punishments,  also,  the  fact  is  to  be  communi- 
cated to  the  committee,  that  they  may  state  any  grounds  of  mitigation.  A  later  or- 
dinance, of  December  21,  provides  that,  on  occasions  of  investigations,  where  pun- 
ishment is  to  be  inflicted,  the  committee  of  students  is  to  be  advised,  not  of  the 
first  information  received,  but  of  the  result  of  the  investigation  ;  that  it  may  allege 
any  matters  in  mitigation. 

"  The  committee  is  also  entitled  to  lay  before  the  university  authorities  any  pro- 
posals from  the  acceptance  of  which  it  may  anticipate  improved  results  from  the 
university  course.  It  is  under  the  protection  of  the  university  authorities  in  the 
performance  of  its  duties,  and  any  injuries  to  a  member  of  it  are  to  be  punished 
with  double  severity. 

"  Every  member  of  the  committee  binds  himself  to  set  a  good  example  of  obedi- 
ence of  the  laws,  and  to  labor  to  promote  the  improvement  of  his  associates  in  morals 
and  honor.  The  committee  is  bound  to  assist  in  repairing  breaches  of  the  public 
peace;  and  in  the  absence  of  the  authorities,  to  uphold,  to  the  best  of  its  ability,  the 
means  used  to  restore  order.  It  is  to  use  its  power  to  compose  enmities  between 
students,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  oppose  every  attempt  of  one  student  to  insult 
another,  or  unlawfully  to  vindicate  himself.  Every  member  is  also  bound  to  warn 
his  fellow-students  against  any  association  of  a  secret  character,  or  avoiding  pub- 
licity, and  to  use  his  influence  to  prevent  any  of  them  from  joining  with  any  such 
association.  If  any  evident  disturbers  of  peace  among  the  students  make  their  ap- 
pearance, or  persons  whose  actions  render  them  unworthy  the  name  of  students,  the 
committee  is  bound,  after  trying  the  virtue  of  admonitions,  to  inform  the  academical 
authorities  of  them." 


Klupfel,  p.  318. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 


VIII.  EXTRACT  FROM  AN  ADDRESS  BY  WOLFGANG  HeYDER,  PROFESSOR  AT  JENA,  DELIV- 
ERED IN  'J HE  TEAR  1607. 

Such  a  vicious  student  prays  not  at  all  to  God,  and  in  accordance  with  such  reck- 
lessness, when  reproved  by  any  one,  even  mildly,  says,  "  The  hogs,  although 
they  neither  fear  God  nor  call  upon  him,  yet  grow  fat  on  their  food  in  the  sty." 

He  goes  unwillingly  past  a  church,  not  to  mention  his  entering  it.  He  is  as  rare 
a  bird  in  the  church  as  a  black  swan  in  the  African  forests.  Of  preachers  he  says, 
u  They  are  passionate,  morose,  eccentric  fellows,  whose  great  enjoyment  consists  in 
attacking,  reproving,  and  abusing  others  ;  damning  them  in  the  pulpit,  and  sending 
them  to  hell.  They  are  always  harping  on  the  same  string;  singing  the  same  old 
song  that  everybody  has  heard  a  thousand  times  and  more." 

He  neither  has  at  hand  the  Holy  Scriptures,  in  which  the  Son  of  God  has  com- 
manded us  to  search,  nor  docs  be  think  it  necessary  to  read  in  them,  unless  when 
he  has  been  in  some  quarrel,  and  been  so  pounded  that  he  can  scarcely  breathe, 
and  begins  to  despair  of  his  life.  Then  he  borrows  a  Bible  from  his  neighbor,  and 
tries  a  few  verses,  just  as  they  occur  to  his  stupid  head,  but  with  discomfort,  for  he 
gapes  with  idleness,  and  scratches  his  head  with  the  difficulty  of  reading.  But  as 
soon  as  the  barber  tells  his  client  to  be  of  good  hope,  the  sick  man  throws  away  that 
old  book,  and  at  once  resumes  his  former  course. 

The  base  desires  which  find  nourishment  in  such  a  life,  completely  destroy  all 
susceptibility  to  honor,  all  love  of  virtue,  and  all  pleasure  in  study;  and,  indeed, 
extirpate  their  very  seeds.  He  thinks  not  of  wisdom,  nor  of  ability,  nor  of  honor- 
able studies,  nor  of  the  welfare  of  church  or  state  ;  but  he  is  absorbed  with  con- 
temptible tricks,  sloth,  idleness,  drinking,  harlotry,  fighting,  wounds,  murder. 

If  you  happen  to  enter  his  room,  I  ask  you  what  will  you  find  for  furniture  ;  what 
will  you  find  ?  In  the  first  place,  no  books — for  what  has  such  a  hot,  or  frantic 
soldierly  fellow  to  do  with  cold  and  spiritless  studying  ? — or  perhaps  a  few  carelessly 
thrown  away  under  seats  or  in  corners,  defiled  with  dust,  eaten  by  moths,  almost 
destroyed  by  mice. 

If  you  look  up  and  down,  you  will  see  hanging  on  the  wall  a  few  swords  and  dag- 
gers, of  which  most  would  not  bring  three  heller  when  the  time  comes  to  pay  the 
Hector's  bills.  And  there  are  are  a  few  guns,  which  he  has  from  time  to  time  not 
been  ashamed  to  steal  from  the  suburbs,  between  some  shingled  house  and  the 
barn  full  of  grain.  You  will  see  armor,  or  steel  gloves,  with  which  our  giant 
appears,  not  unarmed,  at  the  fighting-ground;  and  doublets,  wadded  and  well- 
filled  in  with  cotton,  tow,  hair,  or  whalebone,  so  that  if  a  quarrel  happens  they  will 
stand  a  sword-thrust. 

You  will  see  a  few  bowls  and  many  glasses  awaiting  new  guests.  You  will  see 
cards,  draught-board,  dice,  and  other  means  of  destroying  money  and  youth. 

He  attends  the  public  course  either  not  at  all,  or  very  late  ;  and  hears  no  lectures, 
unless  he  gets  caught  in  the  audience,  like  a  hound  in  a  bath. 

The  lazy  marmot  either  sleeps  until  noon,  or  bits  at  a  vulgar  drinking  debauch, 
preparing  himself  for  the  skirmishing  of  the  night,  so  that  men  may  see  how  boldly 
and  actively  he  will  act. 

When  both  streets  and  chambers  are  still,  and  both  men  have  gone  to  rest  and 
the  birds  have  left  off  singing  in  the  boughs,  and  the  beasts  are  sleeping  in  their 
dens,  then  he  starts  up,  with  great  bangs  on  posts  and  doors,  and  breaks  forth 
from  where  he  had  been  abiding,  armed  and  surrounded  by  his  followers.  Then 
you  have  to  hear  such  a  frantic  horror  and  tragedy;  such  a  roaring,  groaning, 
hallooing,  shrieking,  raging,  knocking,  and  throwing  of  stones,  and  many  more  such 
actions,  as,  if  one  of  the  one-eyed  giants  had  done  them,  would  have  brought  all 
Sicily  together  and  have  banished  the  rioter  to  eternal  misery. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  189 

"Where  one  lives  whom  he  thinks  his  enemy,  God  preserve  us  !  how  many  devil's 
and  fool's  actions  does  he  perform  before  his  door  !  how  does  he  kick  the  door  with 
his  feet !  how  does  he  throw  stones  at  the  window  ! 

He  must  needs  assault  the  most  blameless  people,  against  whom  not  Momus  him- 
self could  allege  any  thing,  with  such  lies,  slanders,  abuses,  and  shameful  stories, 
that,  although  they  are  all  false  and  pure  inventions,  something  will  always  be 
believed,  and  suspicious  minds  will  be  kept  uneasy. 

When  he  meets  either  other  students  going  home,  or  peaceful  citizens,  he  falls 
upon  them  like  a  murderer  or  open  highwayman,  with  bare  and  drawn  sword,  and 
while  the  swearer  utters  an  unimaginable  number  of  oaths,  he  cuts  and  thrusts  at 
them,  strikes  them,  wounds  them,  knocks  them  down,  stamps  on  them,  strangles 
them,  snorts,  rages,  and  behaves  exactly  like  a  devil  sent  out  of  hell  in  human 
shape  ;  and  sometime*  he  injures  his  adversary,  and  sometimes  carries  off  his 
booty  with  wrath  and  fury.  Or,  if  the  time  and  place  will  not  endure  this,  and 
others  will  not  suffer  him  to  shed  swiftly  men's  blood,  and  wreak  his  anger  upon 
them,  the  ambitious  bully  requires  him  with  whom  he  desires  to  fight  to  appear  at 
a  future  day,  and  requires  it  with  frightful  cursings  and  maledictions.  The  hour  is 
fixed,  and  the  conditions  stipulated,  exactly  as  if  he  were  about  to  take  the  field, 
and  lay  out  an  encampment  for  an  army. 

And  if  the  summoned  party  is  not  prompt  in  attendance,  he  must  pass  for  the 
greatest  rascal  of  all  the  rascals  that  ever  lived  or  will  live ;  and  probably  these 
announcements  are  made  :  "  If  you  are  an  honorable  fellow,  meet  me  early  to-mor- 
row morning;  if  you  are  of  honorable  birth,  fight  me;  if  you  are  better  than  a 
gallows-thief,  set  to  with  me." 

When  the  battle  is  ended,  the  university  officer  comes  up  and  summons  ourcen- 
taurian  brawler  and  man-eater  before  the  Rector.  When  he  appears  before  him, 
our  cut-and-thruster  firstly  begins  stoutly  to  deny  every  thing  he  did,  and  for 
which  he  is  accused  and  summoned,  with  a  hardy  impudence  truly  wonderful. 
But  when  he  is  convicted,  he  seeks  other  devices  to  escape  ;  and  swears  that  may 
the  devil  fetch  him  if  he  had  not  drank  so  much  that  he  had  quite  lost  his  senses, 
and  could  neither  hear  nor  see  ;  and  that  he  has  forgotten  all  the  things  he  did  or 
said,  and  can  only  very  indistinctly  remember  any  thing  at  all  about  them. 

But  all  the  while  that  he  will  not  know  any  thing  of  the  matter,  he  has  every  cir- 
cumstance of  it  in  his  mind,  and  can  plead  whatever  may  best  serve  to  excuse  his 
share  in  the  transaction,  as  skillfully  as  if  Simonides  had  given  him  a  most  masterly 
training  in  the  art  of  memory.  When  the  decision  is  declared,  and  our  young 
leader  must  either  pack  off  out  of  the  place,  like  a  tormenting  devil  whose  very 
shadow  harms  good  people,  or  must  crawl  into  prison,  then  you  will  see  what  an 
impassioned  advocate  he  is  about  his  honor.  His  heroicals  surpass  all  the  Stoics 
and  the  philosophers,  the  Aristideses,  Butiliuses,  and  Catos,  and  he  harangues  about 
his  honor  with  the  most  brazen  impudence. 

He  requests  that  his  punishment  may  be  remitted  ;  he  has  just  come  out  for  the 
first  time,  after  being  sick;  his  family  will  be  branded  with  a  disgrace  which  can 
never  be  wiped  out.  In  his  country  those  who  have  been  imprisoned  are  reckoned 
infamous  ;  he  must  have  some  communication  with  his  friends  before  undergoing 
his  penalty;  and,  moreover,  there  is  so  much  cold  and  stench  in  the  prison  that  he 
cannot  be  placed  there  without  losing  his  health,  which  no  money  will  buy  him  back. 

But  when  he  absolutely  must  go  in,  who  can  tell  how  horribly  he  rages  about  it, 
and  how  pitifully  our  soaker  laments !  He  says  he  was  always  a  pious  fellow,  but  a 
little  trifle  uneasy  after  drinking.  The  Rector's  official  term  will  come  to  an  end  soon, 
and  when  he  gets  out  he  shall  have  some  new  windows,  and  an  everlasting  hatred. 

They  contract  mighty  debts  for  board  and  lodgimr,  which  they  are  never  able  to 
pay.  But  when  pay-day  comes,  and  they  are  called  on  for  the  debt,  and  have  to 
write  home,  they  deceive  their  parents  or  guardians  about  it. 


190 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 


They  write,  first  of  all,  for  their  board-money,  but  with  large  additions.  Arte*-  it 
they  put  down,  but  with  great  reluctance  and  economy,  of  course,  what  they  have 
squandered  on  feast-days,  birth-days,  and  entertainments.  After  these  come  the 
falsest  things  :  "  Our  landlord  married  a  wife,  at  New  Year's,  find  we  had  to  give  her, 
beyond  all  measure,  a  Hungarian  ducat  for  a  gift  for  good  fortune  ;  seven  groscJien 
to  each  child  (there  are  five),  and  an  orts-thahr  to  each  of  the  servant-girls.  And 
in  like  manner  it  was  necessary  to  spend  money  on  each  fair-day,  of  which  there 
are  two  a  year  here.  And  I  studied  myself  into  a  fever  by  sitting  up  late  nights, 
and  had  to  lie  abed  with  it  six  whole  weeks.  This  cost  me  eight  thalers  to  the 
apothecary,  four  to  the  doctor,  three  to  the  barber,  and  the  sixth  of  one  to  the  boy 
who  brought  the  medicine  and  gave  it  to  me. 

"  I  have  attended  various  extra  lectures,  with  great  benefit,  and  paid  the  instructor 
who  read  them,  and  who  values  his  knowledge  highly,  six  gulden,  which  be  refused 
at  first,  and  wanted  one  more.  I  have  bought  the  best  and  handsomest  books,  for 
I  could  get  along  as  well  without  them  as  I  could  fly  without  wings.  And  I  owe 
the  bookseller  twelve  ducats,  which  I  must  pay  as  soon  as  possible.  I  have  some 
clothes,  to  be  sure,  but  my  boy  has  just  run  away,  and  stole  both  my  cloaks,  my 
hat,  and  my  purse,  with  what  money  I  had  left,  so  that  I  must  have  some  more 
clothes,  which  are  not  to  be  had  for  nothing."  With  such  impositions  as  these  they 
fool  their  parents  and  guardians,  and  also  make  the  insulting  charge  of  avarice 
against  men  to  whom  ihey  have  never  paid  so  much  as  a  pear-stem. 

Wherever  our  young  gentleman  goes,  he  gives  out  that  he  is  anxious  to  marry. 
He  represents  himself  as  an  only  son,  and  having  very  wealthy  parents.  If  his  suit 
prospers,  lie  is  going  to  take  his  bride  to  the  Fortunate  Islands. 

He  borrows  money  of  his  acquaintance,  and  gets  goods  on  credit  at  the  shops, 
and  with  these  he  befools  and  entices  the  poor  girl,  who  most  gladly  believes  what 
she  wishes,  and  sometimes  grants  favors  which  she  ought  not.  But  very  soon  after 
that,  when  his  desire  is  satisfied,  he  pretends  an  occasion  to  be  angry,  and  transfers 
his  love  to  some  one  else. 

His  clothes,  though  not  of  costly  material,  are  of  a  foolish  and  ridiculous  pattern. 
He  is  first  to  take  up  a  new  fashion,  and  first  to  throw  it  away  again,  when  it  is  a 
little  out  of  date. 

With  hair  like  a  crow's  head,  and  his  dog's  face  scarred  up,  he  is  far  worse  than 
Virgil's  vagabond,  Achacmenides. 

There  is  no  noble  aspiration  in  him,  nor  any  good  habit.  He  wallows  in  the  filth 
of  his  wickedness.  His  course  of  villanies  hardens  him  until  he  loses  all  sense  of 
shame,  and  he  pursues  his  evil  ways  with  no  reminder  from  his  conscience. 

He  holds  all  laws  and  restraints  of  authority  not  worth  a  snap,  and  is  forsworn 
and  reckless  to  God — scarcely  believing  that  He  exists  and  governs  the  world  by 
His  wisdom. 

After  thus  passing  his  university  course  in  neglect  of  study,  debauchery,  and 
folly,  he  is  summoned  home,  though  unwilling;  unless,  as  commonly  happens,  he 
is  for  his  heroic  virtues  cut  off  like  a  pestilential  member,  and  rejected  from  the 
number  of  students.  He  leaves,  almost  always,  yellow,  lean,  sunken-eyed,  lame, 
toothless,  marked  all  over  with  scars  and  bruises.  Such  are  the  rewards  of  his 
honorable  and  angelic  life. 

When  he  gets  to  his  native  place,  he  is  in  no  great  hurry  to  see  the  faces  of  his 
parents  and  friends.  He  turns  from  a  lion  to  a  hare;  and  in  his  anguish  hides  in 
dark  corners,  seeks  intercessors  in  his  mother,  sisters,  brothers-in-law,  and  rela- 
tives, and  by  means  of  their  prayers  and  entreaties,  obtains  leave,  with  great  diffi 
culty,  to  crawl,  with  what  of  himself  he  has  not  gorged  and  guzzled  away  at  the 
university,  into  his  father's  house,  and  to  snore  and  lie  hid  there.  It  is  months 
before  he  has  courage  to  appear  on  the  public  streets;  the  reason,  because  he  will 
be  spit  upon  and  jeered  at  by  every  soul  he  meets.  After  this  he  will  find  himself 
obliged  to  follow  a  different  course  of  life. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  191 


IX.  Synonyms  of  Beanus. 

SchSttgen  Bays:  The  Pennals,  or  young  students,  have  many  other  names, 
which  I  must  give  in  order,  in  several  classes.  Some  they  receive  on  account  of 
their  youth,  and  as  new  students,  as  for  example  : 

1.  Quasimodogeniti — which  excellent  expression,  used  by  the  Holy  Ghost  itself, 
men  have  shamefully  abused. 

2.  JYeovisti — perhaps  from  neopliytus,  a  tyro,  but  with  a  coarse  terminal  change. 
8.  Crowbills — as  if,  like  young  crows,  or  other  birds,  they  were  yet  yellow  about 

the  bill. 

4.  Jlovsecocks. 

5.  Heifer-calves. 

6.  Sucklings — as  having  only  just  left  home,  where  they  had  been  nursing  infants. 

7.  Bacchants— o.  name,  as  is  well  known,  applied  to  all  not  regularly  deposed. 

8.  Innocentes — as  not  having  got  far  out  into  the  world.  By  an  abuse  of  theo- 
logical terms,  it  was  also  said  that  they  were  in  statu  innocenticc. 

9.  Half-papen — a  name  given  them  at  Kostock,  meaning  half-students.  All  stu- 
dents were  anciently  termed  papen,  but  at  present  this  term  has  become  one  of 
abuse,  which  the  vulgar  are  accustomed  to  apply  to  students. 

10.  Beani — applied  to  those  not  deposed. 

11.  Shovers — because  they  pretend  to  be  students  too  soon,  and  try  not  to  serve 
out  all  their  Fennal  year. 

12.  Tapeworms — for  it  was  pretended  that  they  were  full  of  all  manner  of  unclean- 
ness  inside,  and  so  they  were  given,  or,  rather,  forced  to  take  all  sorts  of  things. 

13.  Lnperfecti — because  they  are  not  declared  free  from  their  obligations  ;  as 
opposed  to  the  Absoluti. 

14.  House-pennals  ;  house-goblins  ;  family-foxes  (stammfeix*) — these  names  are 
given  to  such  as  are  afraid  of  Pennalism,  and  stay  long  at  home  before  going  to 
the  university. 

X.    MeYFAKT's   AKETINUS.f 

Meyfart  (p.  126)  relates  how  the  student  Aretinus,  after  leaving  the  gymnasium, 
went  to  the  university. 

"  He  hastens  to  Athens,  arrives  there,  and  almost  before  he  has  set  his  foot 
within  the  gate,  there  meets  him  that  man-stealer,  that  gallows-bird,  and  destined 
to  be  broken  on  the  wheel  Kunz  Sawriissel,|  a  monstrous  abortion,  who  ought  to 
be  driven  from  the  earth  and  from  the  neighborhood  of  reasoning  creatures. 

"  This  beast,  I  say,  recognized  Aretinus,  as  he  had  formerly  attended  the  prepar- 
atory schools  with  him ;  and  quickly  he  overclouds  his  wolfish  visage  with  gloomy 
wrinkles,  pricks  up  his  ass's  ears  like  Egyptian  grave-stones,  stretches  his  heavy 
chops  as  many  ells  wide  as  an  elephant,  begins  to  stare  out  of  his  eyes  like  a  lion 
and  to  make  tiger-claws  of  his  bauds,  mutters  a  few  words  between  his  dog's  teeth, 
curses  angrily.  He  does  not  insult  nor  approach  the  young  man,  however,  but 
runs  after  some  of  his  like,  and  finds,  by  great  misfortune,  a  filthy  vagabond  and 
lewd  talker,  the  vilest  of  all  two  or  four  footed  beasts,  the  most  cursed  and  stink- 
ing boar  of  the  mud.  He  finds  him  in  a  public  drinking-house,  having  crammed 
his  foul  paunch,  and  not  only  wet  himself  with  beer  but  bathed  himself  in  it ;  and 

*  In  the  letter  quoted  at  p.  46,  of  Duke  Albrecht  of  Saxony  to  the  University  of  Jena,  in  1624, 
Feux  is  used  as  a  synonym  of  Pennal.  Is  Feux  our  present  Fox  ?  Compare  an  article  enti- 
tled "  How  comes  Reineke  Fuchs  into  the  universities  ?"  in  the  Academical  Monthly,  for 
August  and  September,  1853,  especially  p.  407. 

t  On  Pennalism  and  Deposition,  see  "The  Academical  Life  of  the  Seventeenth  Century,"  by 
Dr.  A.  Tholuck,  pp.  200  and  279.  %  Saicriissel,  i.  e.,  Hog-snout. 


192  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

stirred  himself  up,  not  to  foolishness,  hut  to  raging  and  raving  madness.  This  fel- 
low Sawriissel  informs  that  a  young  gentleman  has  arrived,  and  those  of  the  place 
must  consider  what  is  to  be  done.  Sawriissel  has  scarcely  addressed  himself  to 
this  traitorous  abyss  (who  ought  to  be  decorated  with  a  rope),  when  behold,  all 
the  caves  of  hell  open,  and  the  devils  incarnate  pour  forth  from  their  throats  noth- 
ing but  fearful  blasphemies  against  God,  terrific  rcvilings  of  His  name,  shameful 
curses  upon  the  holy  sacraments,  so  that  I  doubt  whether  even  Babahakeh  the 
Assyrian  had  attained  to  more  than  a  shadow  of  their  recklessness. 

"  They  hold  a  consultation,  and  the  resolution  is  adopted  that  the  young  gentle- 
man (those  who  enact  it  being  very  old  gentlemen,  not  having  the  yellow  off  their 
bills  yet,  or  their  spittle  wiped  off)  must  be  bravely  stirred  up,  abused,  and  sub- 
jected to  tribulation.  What  further  happens?  The  time  comes  when  these  beasts 
lie  down  to  rest,  and  the  watchman  has  proclaimed  the  tenth  hour  of  the  night. 
But  now  these  fellows  get  up— Sawriissel,  Vollfrass,  Schling-Kuhe,  Gassen  Eule, 
Geil-Spatz,*— and  put  their  swords  at  their  sides,  in  order  to  be  able  to  enforce 
their  designs,  and  get  themselves  to  Aretinus'  lodging.  There  they  neigh  like 
horses,  roar  like  lions,  bleat  like  calves,  bellow  like  cows,  grunt  like  hogs,  baa  like 
sheep,  hop  about  like  magpies,  woodpeckers,  and  apes;  a  worse  crew  than  the  des- 
ert goblins  of  the  wastes  of  Babylonia,  of  which  the  prophet  speaks  ;  more  freakish 
than  the  Zihim  and  Ohim,  stranger  than  ostriches,  more  poisonous  than  dragons. 

"  Meanwhile  these  mud-birds  asperse  the  name  of  Aretinus,  break  in  his  win- 
dows, and  spit  out  thousands  of  shameful  lies  about  his  honored  parents. 

"After  this  they  enter  Aretinus'  room,  uninvited  and  uuwelcomed,  sit  down, 
snort  and  bluster  like  executioners  who  come  into  the  torture-chamber  and  see  the 
prisoners,  ask  for  nothing,  order  every  thing,  and  make  Aretinus  have  beer  and 
wine  brought  in,  and  whatever  else  they  fancy. 

"  They  send  off  also  for  a  martyr-master  and  torturer,  who  comes  to  the  feast,  and 
our  pious  Aretinus  has  to  let  himself  be  struck,  insulted  (scolded  is  too  mild  a 
term),  pounded,  punched,  thrown  about,  and  abused. 

"  He  is  made  to  crawl  under  the  seats,  make  a  fool  of  himself,  snuff  the  candle, 
carry  round  the  liquor,  pour  out,  rinse  the  glasses,  and  do  more  than  a  slave's  ser- 
vices. Neither  is  he  safe  at  the  lecture-room,  church,  choir,  or  even  at  the  altar, 
when  he  would  receive  the  beloved  pledge  of  Jesus.  For  this  devil's  brood,  to 
keep  him  faithful  to  his  new  obligations,  stand  close  at  his  side,  wink,  beckon,  laugh, 
and  point  with  the  finger  at  the  good  Aretinus,  until  the  sacred  services  are  over." 

XL  Emperor  Leopold's  Charter  to  the  University  of  Halle,  Dated 
October  19,  1693. t 

We,  Leopold,  by  the  grace  of  God  elected  Emperor  of  the  Romans,  always  Au- 
gustus, and  of  Germany,  Hungary,  Bohemia,  Dalmatia,  Croatia,  Sclavonia,  &c, 
King,  Archduke  of  Austria,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  Brabant,  Styria,  Carinthia,  Car- 
niola,  &c.,  Margrave  of  Moravia,  Duke  of  Luxemburg,  and  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Silesia,  Wirtemberg  and  Tecka,  Prince  of  Sweden,  Count  of  Hapsburg,  Tyrol,  La 
Ferette,  Kyburg,  and  Gortz,  Landgrave  of  Alsace,  Marquis  of  the  Holy  Roman  Em- 
pire, of  Burgau,  and  of  Upper  and  Lower  Lusatia,  Lord  of  the  Marches  of  Sclavonia, 
Portus  Naonis,  Salines,  &c,  do  grant  and  make  known  to  all  persons,  by  the  tenor  of 
these  presents.  Since  we  were  elevated,  by  the  favor  and  permission  of  the  all-pow- 
erful God,  to  the  high  office  of  the  imperial  majesty,  we  have  considered  that  the 
obligations  of  our  office  do  in  an  especial  manner  require  us  carefully  to  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  our  ancestors,  the  Roman  emperors  and  kings  (who,  among  the  other  cares 
of  their  supreme  power,  have  thought  it  especiaUy  worthy  of  their  dignity  to  estab 
lish,  found,  and  strengthen  the  various  academies,  gymnasia,  and  universities  in  the 

*  Hog-snout,  glutton,  cow-eater,  street-owl,  lust-sparrow.  t  Koch,  i.  453. 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  193 

Holy  Roman  Empire);  that  the  study  of  the  liberal  arts  and  sciences,  which  are  appro- 
priate and  necessary  for  the  government  and  preservation  of  the  commonwealth,  may 
be  cherished  and  incited  by  proper  honors  and  rewards,  and  may  by  our  means 
be  happily  promoted.  Whereas,  therefore,  the  Most  Serene  Frederic,  Margrave  of 
Brandenburg,  Duke  of  Magdeburg,  Stettin,  Pomerania,  and  of  the  Cassubii,  Burg- 
grave  of  Nuremburg,  Prince  of  Halberstadt,  Minda,  and  Carmina,  Count  in  Hohen- 
zollern,  Arch-Chancellor  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  Prince  Elector,  and  our  own 
most  beloved  relative,  has  humbly  made  known  to  us,  that  having  long  considered 
in  what  manner  he  could  confer  upon  his  faithful  subjects  some  singular  benefit 
whose  fruits  should  not  be  of  one  age  only,  nor  should  redound  to  the  benefit  of 
cotemporaries  alone,  but  might  endure,  and  accrue  to  posterity,  he  had  judged 
nothing  so  likely  to  conduce  to  the  solid  happiness  of  both  governors  and  gov- 
erned, as  to  have  opinions  so  directed  that  youth,  especially  those  approaching 
maturity,  after  having  prosperously  completed  their  preparatory  studies  in  the 
lower  schools,  shall  be  carried  through  a  higher  course  of  study,  imbued  with  the 
best  learning  of  every  kind,  and  formed,  as  it  were  beneath  the  eyes  and  in  the 
sight  of  their  parents,  in  such  a  training  as,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  may  make 
them  useful  to  the  republic.  And  whereas,  among  the  means  of  attaining  this 
felicity,  the  first  place  is  due  to  those  higher  schools,  which  are,  as  it  were,  indis- 
pensable institutions  for  the  receiving  of  youth  from  the  introductory  ones  to  more 
learned  studies,  shaping  them  by  a  superior  course  of  discipline,  and  at  last  taking 
them,  as  if  from  a  full  treasury,  thoroughly  fitted  for  undertaking  the  employments 
of  the  republic.  And  whereas  the  aforesaid  Most  Serene  Prince  Elector  hath 
desired  of  us,  since  he,  almost  alone,  of  all  the  princes  of  Lower  Saxony,  is  not  pos- 
sessed of  such  a  most  useful  seminary,  we  should  in  our  kindness  deign  to  grant 
him,  as  far  as  in  us  lieth,  authority  to  establish  such  a  high  gymnasium  or  academy, 
in  his  city  of  Halle,  in  the  territory  of  the  dukedom  of  Magdeburg,  and  subject  to 
the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  which  in  point  of  privileges  and  immunities,  shall  be 
upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  other  privileged  universities  of  Germany,  Italy,  and 
France  (saving  nevertheless  our  authority,  and  saving  also  the  supreme  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  said  Prince  Elector,  our  petitioner,  and  of  his  successors),  in  which 
academy  to  be  erected,  the  professors  of  each  several  faculty  may  have  power,  after 
a  previous  rigorous  examination,  to  grant  the  titles  of  Doctor,  Licentiate,  Master, 
and  Bachelor,  to  those  worthy  of  and  entitled  to  them ;  who,  having  been  thus 
promoted,  may  use,  enjoy,  possess,  and  have  the  pleasure  of  {gaudere),  each  and 
every  the  favors  and  privileges  had  by  those  of  the  same  degrees  in  other  uni- 
versities ;  and  moreover,  in  which  academy  to  be  erected,  the  doctors  and  scholars, 
with  the  consent  of  the  said  Prince  Elector  and  his  successors,  may  enact  their 
own  statutes,  make  ordinances,  and  create  and  appoint  a  Pro-Rector  and  Pro- 
Chancellor  (the  dignity  of  Rector  and  Chancellor  remaining  with  the  Prince 
Elector  as  founder,  and  with  his  successors),  and  other  university  officers ;  and 
moreover,  that  the  person  holding  the  rectorate  of  the  same  university  shall  pos- 
sess the  dignity  of  count  palatine,  and  that  the  conferring  of  arms  and  insignia 
upon  the  several  faculties  to  be  established  in  the  university  ma;  be  as  a  favor  per- 
mitted to  him,  the  Prince  Elector,  our  petitioner.  We,  from  the  singular  and 
benignant  affection  which  we  entertain  toward  the  Most  Serene  Prince  Elector  of 
Brandenburg,  have  thought  proper  to  grant  (and  do  by  these  presents  graciously 
grant),  in  reply  to  his  petition,  in  manner  following,  for  his  pleasure,  and  do 
graciously  concede  to  him,  authority  to  erect  in  the  aforesaid  city,  subject  to  us  and 
to  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  a  higher  gymasium  o.-  academy  and  university  of  all 
such  laws,  arts,  and  sciences,  as  are  accustomed  to  be  publicly  set  forth  and  taught 
in  any  gymnasium,  university,  or  academy  throughout  all  our  dominions  and  those 
of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  in  such  manner  as  we  give  and  grant  the  aforesaid 
power  and  privilege  in  these  presents,  with  deliberation,  from  mature  consultation 

13 


194  THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES. 

thereon  had,  and  of  our  certain  knowledge  ;  that  is  to  say,  so  that  the  said  gymna- 
sium, or  academy,  and  university  may  be  founded  and  erected  by  the  said  Most 
Serene  Prince  Elector  at  Halle  (without  any  prejudice,  however,  to  neighboring 
universities) ;  and  when  it  shall  have  been  erected,  with  all  the  professors,  doctors, 
and  students  contained  in  it,  and  shall  contain  a  body  of  youth  cultivating  the 
study  of  letters  in  it,  and  such  other  persons  as  pertain  to  it,  it  shall  possess  equal 
rights  and  dignities,  and  all  immunities,  privileges,  liberties,  honors,  and  franchises 
as  are  used,  enjoyed,  possessed,  and  delighted  in  by  the  other  universities  of  Ger- 
many and  their  members.  And  we  desire,  and  by  the  same  our  imperial  authority 
do  decree,  that  professors  and  fit  persons  may  be  appointed  by  the  said  Prince  ov 
by  his  delegates,  to  profess  (profiler i)  in  the  said  university,  and  to  hold  puW; 
lectures,  disputations,  and  recitations  (repetitiones),  to  propose  arguments  for  pur4i« 
discussion,  to  interpret,  comment,  and  explain,  and  to  do  all  scholastic  acts,  in  the 
mode,  manner,  and  order  which  is  accustomed  in  other  universities.  And  if  the 
course  of  study  shall  have  been  successfully  pursued,  and  shall  be  curried  on  fur- 
ther, and  if  a  proper  honor  or  grade  of  dignity  shall  be  decided  upon  in  acknowl- 
edgment of  talent  or  good  conduct,  and  such  as  may  merit  at  any  time  the  worthy 
reward  of  their  labor,  shall  seek  the  same;  we  enact  and  ordain  t\.  at  a  tribunal  of  pro- 
fessors and  doctors  shall  be  formed,  and  that  any  who  shah  bn  judged  worthy  to 
receive  the  prize  for  their  contest  (the  most  fit  and  excellent  of;ing  selected),  shall 
first  submit  to  the  observances  to  be  conducted  by  such  doctors  and  professors, 
according  to  the  usual  custom  of  other  universities,  and  to  a  rigorous  and  diligent 
preparatory  examination  (the  honesty  of  which  we  charge  upon  the  consciences  of 
the  professors),  and  that  those  submitting  themselves  for  examination,  and  causing 
themselves  to  be  presented  to  the  university  authorities  by  respectable  and  hon- 
orable persons,  according  to  custom  and  to  the  statutes,  may  then  be  admitted  to 
the  examination  itself,  and,  the  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  having  been  invoked, 
may  be  examined;  and  if  found  and  judged  fit  and  sufficient,  may  be  created 
bachelors,  or  masters,  or  licentiates,  or  doctors,  according  to  the  science  and  learn- 
ing of  each;  and  may  receive  the  dignity  thereof,  and  be  invested  with  the  same 
by  the  imposition  of  the  hat,  the  giving  of  the  ring  and  the  kiss,  and  may  receive 
and  have  conferred  upon  them  the  usual  ornaments  and  insignia  of  the  said  digni- 
ties ;  and  that  bachelors,  masters,  licentiates,  or  doctors  created  and  to  be  created 
in  the  said  university  ought  to  and  may,  in  all  places  and  territories  of  the  Holy 
Eoman  Empire,  and  in  all  other  countries  and  places,  freely  do  all  acts  of  profes- 
sors, reading,  teaching,  interpreting,  and  commenting,  which  other  professors, 
bachelors,  masters,  licentiates,  and  doctors  created  in  other  privileged  universities 
may  and  ought  to  do  by  right  or  custom. 

Moreover,  we  receive  the  same  university,  to  be  erected  as  above  by  the  aforesaid 
Most  Serene  Prince  Elector  in  his  duchy  of  Magdeburg,  into  the  peculiar  protec- 
tion, safeguard,  and  patronage  of  ourselves  and  our  successors,  Roman  emperors 
and  kings ;  and  we  ordain  and  decree  by  these  presents,  that  scholars  who  shall  re- 
ceive any  dignity  or  degree  in  the  said  university  may  rejoice  in  and  possess,  and 
can  and  ought  to  use,  enjoy,  rejoice  in,  and  possess,  all  and  singular  the  grants, 
honors,  dignities,  pre-eminences,  immunities,  privileges,  franchises,  concessions, 
favors,  indulgences,  and  all  other  things  whatever,  which  the  universities  of 
Heidelberg,  Tubingen,  Cologne,  Ingolstadt,  Friburg,  Eostock,  Julia  Helmstadt, 
Strasburg,  and  other  privileged  universities,  and  doctors,  licentiates,  masters, 
bachelors,  and  scholars  in  any  one  of  the  aforesaid  faculties  who  are  created  to  or 
honored  with  any  dignity  or  degree,  rejoice  in,  use,  enjoy,  and  possess,  in  any  man- 
ner whatever,  by  custom  or  by  law.  Any  privileges,  indulgences,  prerogatives, 
grants,  statutes,  ordinances,  exemptions,  or  other  things  whatever  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding;  all  and  singular  of  which,  of  our  certain  knowledge,  deliberate 
purpose,  and  proper  motion  we  repeal,  and  ordain  to  be  repealed  by  this  our  char- 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  195 

ter ;  provided,  nevertheless,  that  neither  professors  nor  students  shall  therein  teach  or 
write,  or  permit  to  be  taught,  written,  maintained  in  public  lectures  or  disputations,  or 
secretly  or  openly  spread  abroad,  either  by  writing  or  books,  any  thing  scandalous  or 
contrary  to  good  morals,  or  adverse  to  the  Constitutions  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire. 

And  we  moreover  do  graciously  concede  and  bestow  upon  the  doctors  and 
scholars,  for  the  time  being,  of  the  university  to  be  erected,  after  the  manner  of 
other  universities,  but  with  the  previous  consent  had  of  the  aforesaid  Fredoric, 
Prince  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  and  his  successors,  the  faculty  and  power  of  enact- 
ing statutes,  making  ordinances,  and  of  creating  and  appointing  a  Pro-Kector  and 
Pro-Chancellor  (we  having  chosen  that  it  should  rest  in  the  free  will  and  good 
pleasure  of  the  Prince  Elector  as  founder,  and  of  his  successors,  to  reserve  to 
themselves  the  dignity  of  Rector  and  Chancellor,  or  if,  and  as  often  as  they  shall 
choose,  to  grant  to  the  university  the  free  right,  usual  in  other  universities,  of 
electing  a  Rector  and  Chancellor),  and  such  other  officers  as  their  pleasure  or 
necessity  may  require.  And  that  the  aforesaid  Most  Serene  Prince  Elector  of  Bran- 
denburg and  his  successors  may  further  experience  our  gracious  sentiments  to- 
ward this  erection  and  foundation,  we  have,  of  the  motion,  knowledge,  and  authority 
aforesaid,  conferred,  given,  and  bestowed,  and  do  by  the  tenor  of  these  presents 
graciously  confer,  give  and  bestow,  upon  the  Pro-Rector  to  be  appointed  or  elected 
in  the  manner  already  prescribed,  or  who  shall,  in  succession,  at  whatever  time  be 
filling  the  office  of  Rector  in  the  same  university,  the  dignity  of  Count  of  the 
Sacred  Lateran  Palace,  and  of  our  Cesarean  Court  and  of  the  Imperial  Consistory, 
and  do  graciously  aggregate  him  to  and  inscribe  him  with  the  number  and  com- 
pany of  the  other  counts  palatine. 

Decreeing  and  ordering  by  this  imperial  edict,  that  from  this  time  forward  suc- 
cessively, as  long  as  and  while  he  shall  fill  the  office  of  said  Pro-Rector,  he  may  and 
shall  use,  enjoy,  and  rejoice  in  the  privileges,  grants,  rights,  immunities,  honors,  ex- 
emptions, customs,  and  liberties  below  written,  in  manner  as  the  other  Counts  of  the 
Holy  Lateran  Palace  have  hitherto  used  and  possessed  the  same,  or  do  in  any  way 
use  and  possess  them,  by  custom  or  by  right.  And  first,  that  he  may,  throughout 
the  whole  Roman  Empire,  and  in  all  countries  and  places,  create  and  make  notaries 
public,  or  scribes  and  ordinary  judges,  and  to  give  and  grant  such  office  of  notary, 
or  scribe  and  ordinary  judge,  to  all  persons  worthy,  skillful,  and  fit  for  the  place, 
and  to  invest  any  of  them,  by  pen  and  pencase,  as  the  custom  is  ;  provided,  how- 
ever, that  from  such  notaries  public  or  scribes  and  ordinary  judges  created  by  him 
and  from  each  of  them,  in  the  place  and  in  the  name  of  ourselves  and  of  the  Holy 
Empire,  and  as  a  pledge  of  fidelity  to  the  Roman  Empire,  he  shall  take  their  corporal 
and  proper  oath,  in  this  manner  :  That  they  will  be  faithful  to  us  and  to  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  and  to  all  our  successors,  Roman  emperors  and  kings,  legiti- 
mately succeeding,  and  will  not  enter  into  any  design  contemplating  danger  to  us, 
but  will  faithfully  defend  and  promote  our  good  and  our  safety,  and  to  the  extent 
of  their  power  prevent  and  avert  our  damage.  That,  moreover,  they  will  fairly, 
correctly,  faithfully,  and  without  any  pretense,  contrivance,  falsehood,  or  fraud, 
write,  read,  draft,  and  dictate  all  instruments,  public  and  private,  last  wills,  codi- 
cils, testaments,  all  acts  of  judges,  and  all  and  singular  such  other  things  as  it 
may  be  required  from  them,  and  any  one  of  them,  by  obligation  of  the  said  offices, 
to  draft  or  write,  not  regarding  hatred,  money,  rewards,  or  other  feelings  or  favors. 
And  that  they  will  faithfully,  according  to  the  custom  of  their  locality,  read,  draft, 
and  write  all  writings  which  they  may  be  required  to  draw  for  public  purposes, 
upon  clean  parchment,  not  upon  erased  documents  or  paper.  That  they  will  pro- 
mote, to  the  best  of  their  ability,  the  causes  of  their  guests  (hospitalium),  and  of 
those  in  distress  ;  and  bridges  and  public  roads :  that  they  will  faithfully  retain  in 
secrecy  the  testimony  and  words  of  witnesses  until  they  shall  have  been  regularly 
published ;  and  shall  well,  fairly,  and  honestly  do  all  and  singular  such  things  a3 


196  THE    GERMAN   UNIVERSITIES. 

Bhall  in  any  way  whatever  pertain  to  the  said  offices,  either  hy  custom  or  law.  And 
that  such  notaries  public  or  scribes  and  ordinary  judges  to  be  created  by  him  may, 
throughout  the  whole  Roman  Empire,  and  in  all  other  places  whatever,  draw, 
write,  and  publish  contracts,  acts  of  judges,  instruments  and  last  wills  ;  supply 
attestations  (decreta),  and  authorizations  in  all  contracts  requiring  any  such  thing, 
and  do,  publish,  and  exercise  all  other  things  which  pertain  and  are  known  to 
belong  to  the  office  of  public  notary  or  scribe  and  ordinary  judge.  Decreeing 
>  that  all  instruments  and  writings  made  by  such  scribes,  notaries  public,  or  ordi- 
nary judges  shall  have  full  faith  in  court  and  elsewhere;  all  constitutions,  statutes, 
and  other  things  making  to  the  contrary,  notwithstanding.  In  like  manner,  by 
our  said  imperial  authority,  we  grant  to  the  aforesaid  Pro-Rector,  or  person  who 
shall  be  filling  the  office  of  Rector,  that  he  may  have  power  and  authority  to  make, 
create,  and  invest  as  poets  laureate,  persons  fit  therefor  and  excelling  in  the  poeti- 
cal faculty,  by  the  imposition  of  the  laurel  and  the  giving  of  a  ring ;  which  poets 
laureate  so  created  and  invested  by  the  same,  may  have  power  and  authority  in  all 
cities,  communities,  universities,  colleges,  and  schools,  of  all  places  and  countries 
of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  and  everywhere,  freely  and  without  any  impediment 
or  contradiction,  to  read,  instruct  (repetere),  write,  dispute,  interpret,  and  comment 
in  the  science  of  the  said  poetical  art,  and  to  do  and  exercise  all  other  poetical  acts 
which  other  poets  and  persons  adorned  with  the  poetical  laurel  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  do  and  exercise,  and  to  use,  enjoy,  possess,  and  rejoice  in  all  and  singu- 
lar the  ornaments,  insignia,  privileges,  prerogatives,  exemptions,  liberties,  conces- 
sions, honors,  pre-eminences,  favors,  and  indulgences,  which  other  poets  laureate, 
appointed  in  whatever  places  and  academies,  rejoice  in,  enjoy,  and  use,  either  by 
custom  or  law.  And,  moreover,  we  grant  and  bestow  upon  the  aforesaid  Pro-Rec- 
tor full  power  to  legitimate  natural  children,  bastards,  children  of  prostitutes  and 
concubines,  and  incestuous  children  in  marriage  or  without  it ;  and  all  others,  al- 
though infants,  and  whether  present  or  absent,  begotten  or  to  be  begotten  from 
illicit  or  damnable  intercourse,  whether  masculine  or  feminine,  by  whatever  name 
called,  whether  other  legitimate  children  exist  or  not,  and  without  their  consent 
having  been  sought  for  (Us  etiam  aliter  non  requisltis),  and  whether  their  parents 
be  living  or  dead  (the  children  of  illustrious  princes,  counts,  and  barons  being 
nevertheless  excepted),  to  restore  to  them  and  any  one  of  them,  all  and  singular, 
legitimate  rights,  entirely  to  take  away  all  stain  from  their  birth,  by  restoring  and 
habilitating  them  in  all  and  singular  their  rights  of  succession  and  inheritance  of 
paternal  and  maternal  possessions,  even  from  intestate  relatives  by  both  father  and 
mother,  and  in  all  legitimate  honors,  dignities,  and  private  agreements,  either  by 
contract  or  by  last  will,  or  in  any  other  manner  whatever,  whether  in  court  or 
without,  precisely  as  if  they  had  been  begotten  in  legitimate  matrimony,  all  objec- 
tions from  illegitimate  birth  being  completely  quieted.  And  that  such  legitima- 
tion of  them  so  made  by  him  as  above,  shall  be  had  and  held  to  be  done  with 
entire  right  and  lawfulness,  not  otherwise  than  if  it  had  taken  place  with  all  the 
legal  forms,  the  defect  of  which  we  will  and  intend  to  be  specially  supplied  by  im- 
perial authority  (so  nevertheless,  that  such  legitimations  shall  not  prejudice  legiti- 
mate and  natural  heirs  and  children);  so  that  those  so  legitimated,  after  having 
been  legitimated,  shall  be,  and  shall  be  held  to  be,  and  may  be  named,  and  can  and 
ought  to  be  named,  in  all  places,  as  if  legitimate  and  legitimately  born  of  the  house, 
family,  and  descent  of  their  parents,  and  have  power  and  authority  to  bear  and 
carry  the  arms  and  insignia  of  such  parents ;  and,  moreover,  that  they  be  made 
noble,  if  their  parents  were  noble,  certain  laws  notwithstanding,  which  provide 
that  natural  children,  bastards,  children  of  prostitutes  and  concubines,  and  inces- 
tuous children,  whether  in  marriage  or  without  it,  and  all  others  begotten  or  to  be 
begotten  of  illegal  or  damnable  intercourse,  cannot  and  ought  not  to  be  legitimated 
while  natural  legitimate  children  are  living,  or  without  the  wish  and  consent  ot 


THE    GERMAN    UNIVERSITIES.  197 

the  natural  and  legitimate  children,  or  paternal  relatives,  or  of  the  lords  of  the  fief; 
and  especially  the  Novels,  "  How  natural  children  may  be  enfranchised,'1'1  passim  ;* 
and  Liber  Feudorum,  "  If  there  be  a  controversy  between  the  lord  and  paternal  rela- 
tions about  a  fief  '/"f  and  Code,  title  Jubemus,  6,  "  Of  the  emancipation  of  children  ;"J 
and  other  similar  provisions,  which  laws,  and  each  of  them,  we  ordain  to  be  ex- 
pressly and  intentionally  repealed;  and  notwithstanding  the  prov.Vons  of  con- 
tracts aforesaid,  and  of  the  last  wills  of  deceased  persons,  and  other  laws,  and  their 
enactments  and  customs,  although  they  are  such  as  require  to  be  recited  or  of 
which  special  mention  ought  here  to  be  made ;  which,  in  abrogation  of,  and  intend- 
ing to  abrogate  them,  in  this  present  case  at  least,  we  do  of  our  certain  knowledge 
and  the  plenitude  of  our  imperial  power,  totally  repeal  and  wi'l  to  be  repealed. 

And,  moreover,  we  give  and  grant  to  the  aforesaid  Pro-Kector,  or  person  filling 
the  office  of  the  Eectorate,  power  and  authority  to  appoint  guardians  and  curators, 
and  to  remove  the  same,  for  legitimate  subsisting  causes  ;  to  restore  infamous  per- 
sons, whether  by  law  or  fact,  to  good  fame,  and  to  purify  them  from  every  sign  of 
infamy,  whether  inflicted  or  to  be  inflicted,  so  that  thereafter  they  shall  be  held 
fit  and  proper  persons  for  all  and  every  transaction,  and  may  be  promoted  to  digni- 
ties ;  also  to  adopt  children,  young  or  adult,  and  to  make,  constitute,  and  ordain 
them  such ;  also  to  emancipate  children,  legitimate  and  to  be  legitimated,  and 
adoptive ;  and  to  consent  to  the  adoption  and  emancipation  of  all  and  singular, 
both  of  infants  and  adults ;  and  to  declare  those  supplicating  it  to  be  of  full  age, 
and  to  give  their  authorization  and  decree  to  that  effect ;  also  to  manumit  ser- 
vants, and  in  like  manner  to  give  their  authorization  and  decree  for  any  manumis- 
sion, either  with  or  without  the  use  of  the  official  rod ;  and  to  alienations  by  minors, 
and  transactions  by  those  not  enfranchised  {alimentorum) ;  and  to  restore  to  their 
rights  minors,  churches,  and  communities  injured,  the  other  party  having  first  been 
summoned  for  that  purpose,  and  to  grant  to  them  or  either  of  them  full  restitu- 
tion, the  legal  order  of  proceeding  being  always  preserved. 

Lastly,  we  grant  and  bestow  upon  the  aforementioned  Most  Serene  Prince  Elec- 
tor of  Brandenburg  free  authority  and  power  of  conferring  peculiar  arms  and  insig- 
nia upon  each  of  the  faculties  to  be  established  in  said  university,  which  they  shall 
have  power  and  authority  to  use  whenever  necessary,  or  at  their  pleasure,  in  pub- 
lic writings,  edicts,  ordinances,  and  other  acts,  in  place  of  a  seal ;  saving,  neverthe- 
less, as  to  all  the  foregoing,  our  Csesarean  authority,  the  supreme  jurisdiction  and 
all  the  authority  of  the  founder  himself  and  his  successors,  and  the  rights  of  all 
other  persons  whatever. 

Let  no  man,  therefore,  of  whatever  state,  rank,  order,  dignity,  or  pre-eminence, 
infringe  upon  the  grants  and  powers  of  our  concession,  erection,  confirmation,  in- 
dulgence, protection,  countship  palatine,  and  other  our  privileges  above  inserted, 
or  with  rash  daring  make  opposition  to  them,  or  violate  them  in  any  manner.  And 
if  any  one  shall  presume  to  attempt  to  do  so,  be  it  known  to  him  that  he  will  incur, 
without  power  or  remission,  both  the  heaviest  indignation  of  ourselves  and  of  the 
Holy  Empire,  and  a  fine  of  fifty  marks  of  pure  gold  for  each  offense ;  of  which  we 
decree  that  one-half  shall  go  to  the  imperial  fisc— that  is,  to  our  treasury— and  the 
remainder  to  the  aforesaid  Most  Serene  Prince  Elector  of  Brandenburg  and  to  his 
successors.  In  testimony  whereof  these  letters  are  subscribed  with  our  hand  and 
attested  by  the  attachment  of  our  Csesarean  seal.  Given  at  our  City  of  Vienna,  on 
the  nineteenth  day  of  October,  in  the  year  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety- 
three,  and  of  our  reign  over  the  Roman  Empire  the  thirty-sixth,  over  Hungary  the 
thirty-ninth,  over  Bohemia  the  thirty-eighth.  Leopold. 


♦Novels,  89, passim;  see  Corpus  Juris  Civilis,  ed.  by  Kriegel  and  otbers,  3  vols,  royal 
8vo.,  Leipeic,  1856,  vol.  iii.  p.  897,  et  seq. 
t  Lib.  Feud.,  11,  26,  §  11 ;  ib.,  vol.  iii.  p.  860.  %  Cod.,  viii.  49,  5 ;  ib.,  vol.  ii.  p.  559. 

No.  16— [Vol.  VI.,  No.  1.]— 5 


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III.   TREATISES  ON  ACADEMICAL  SUBJECTS. 


IV.  ESSAYS  OX  ACADEMICAL  SUBJECTS, 


L  Lectures.     Dialogic  Instruction. 

The  talented  Theremin  wrote  on  the  universities  in  1836.  He  dis- 
cussed, principally,  their  defects  and  faults ;  and  believed  that  many, 
if  not  most  of  them,  would  be  remedied  by  one  universal  cure ;  namely, 
the  disuse  of  the  received  mode  of  instruction,  and  the  introduction  of 
the  dialogic  form  instead  of  the  monological  one  of  the  usual  lectures. 

This  theory  indicates  a  pseudo-genius,  who  would  know  every  thing 
better  than  others,  but  knows  nothing  well. 

The  defects  of  many  lectures  are  plainly  to  be  seen,  and  have  often 
been  attacked.  Professors  have  been  pointed  out  who  have  read  the 
same  manuscript  for  a  series  of  years,  or  rather  chanted,  in  a  weari- 
some monotone,  from  them ;  and  students  who  stolidly  wrote  down 
the  matter  thus  delivered ;  and  it  has  been  asked,  "  What  is  the  use  of 
these  notes  since  the  invention  of  printing  ?  If  the  professor's  manu- 
script is  worth  so  much,  let  him  print  it." 

To  read  the  same  manuscript  year  after  year  would  seem  entirely 
inadmissible;  and,  in  fact,  is,  as  a  rule.  But  there  are  exceptions 
which  must  not  be  overlooked;  especially  that  where  a  master  of  style 
has  worked  up  his  manuscript  with  artistic  care,  to  a  degree  of  excel- 
lence as  high  as  he  can  reach,  and  feels  that  any  alteration  must  be 
not  for  the  better,  but  for  the  worse.  If  such  a  speaker  even  adds  no 
remarks  to  the  written  matter,  the  rule  vox  viva  docet  (it  is  the  living 
voice  that  teaches),  is  still  true  of  his  mere  reading.  His  tone,  his  ac- 
cent, even  his  gestures,  enliven  his  words,  and  each  hearer  feels  that 
the  speaker  is  addressing  him.  If  the  manuscript  were  printed,  read- 
ing in  silence,  to  one's  self,  could  not  entirely  fill  the  place  of  the  viva 
vox.  This  is  a  case  which  has  happened,  though  very  seldom  ;  and  it 
occupies  a  middle  place  between  oral  teaching  and  writing  books. 

But  it  is  clear,  at  least,  that  the  practice  of  repeatedly  reading  the 
same  manuscript  should  not  be  unqualifiedly  condemned,  especially 
where  the  professor  has  labored  continually,  thoughtfully,  and  fruitfully 
in  his  department ;  and  when,  in  consequence,  his  lectures,  though  al- 
ways on  the  same  basis  of  substance,  are  a  stem  which  every  spring 
puts  out  new  leaves  and  blossoms. 

The  teacher  who  prepares  his  notes  with  quiet  but  thoughtful  and 
careful  industry,  in  the  silence  of  his  study,  is  altogether  to  be  prefer- 
red to  the  pseudo-genius,  who  dares  to  enter  the  desk  substantially 


202  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS 

altogether  unprepared,  because  he / intends  to  give  himself  up  to  the 
inspiration  of  his  genius.  Such  pretendedly  inspired  improvisatori  do 
not,  it  is  true,  want  for  words,  but  their  words  are  destitute  of  all  sub- 
stance— of  any  actual  truth. 

Of  different  character  was  one  young  man  who  trusted,  with  the  ut- 
most confidence,  to  the  field  of  knowledge  which  lay  quite  at  his  com- 
mand. He  had  often  ridiculed  the  professors'  notes,  and  proposed  to 
have  nothing  but  an  entirely  free  lecture.  Upon  his  first  appearance 
in  the  lecturer's  desk,  he  spoke,  for  the  first  quarter  of  an  hour,  with 
confidence,  rapidity,  and  freedom;  for  the  second,  his  delivery  was,  in 
spite  of  himself,  moderate,  slow,  and  hesitating;  and  when  the  third 
quarter  commenced,  he  was  forced  to  go  into  bankruptcy.  Saying, 
with  great  mortification,  "  Gentlemen,  my  materials  have  escaped  me," 
he  closed. 

Even  a  most  distinguished  teacher,  who  is  completely  at  home  with 
his  subject,  will  not  enter  the  desk  entirely  unprepared — without  hav- 
ing previously  prepared  his  lecture  with  care.  And  it  is,  of  course, 
much  more  necessary  with  teachers  not  so  accomplished,  young  ones 
especially,  even  if  they  do  not  prepare  their  lecture  as  carefully  as  if 
for  the  press,  at  least  to  write  out  a  more  or  less  full  skeleton  arrange- 
ment.    They  are,  otherwise,  in  danger  of  embarrassment  or  repetition. 

Lectures  differ  with  regard  to  taking  notes  of  them,  especially  in 
this :  that  some  instructors  are  accustomed  to  use  short  distinct  sen- 
tences of  a  compendious  nature,  which  they  give  as  themes  to  be  ex- 
panded ;  while  others  speak  in  a  more  flowing  style,  leaving  the 
hearer  to  seize  and  write  down  whatever  he  can. 

To  discuss  the  latter  practice  first : — It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to 
take  satisfactory  notes  of  such  a  lecture.  All  who  are  not  sufficiently 
skilled  in  short-hand  to  take  down  every  word — an  accomplishment 
necessarily  rare — must  use  no  small  intellectual  exertion  in  an  extem- 
pore condensation  of  what  is  said,  and  the  selection,  on  the  spot,  of  the 
most  important  matter.  Such  n.ote-taking  certainly  can  not  be  charged 
with  being  merely  mechanical  work ;  it  is  rather  to  be  feared  that  it 
requires  too  much  from  the  audience.  It  is  only  necessary  to  com- 
pare different  notes  of  one  lecture,  to  see  what  great  differences  there 
are  as  to  capacity  for  doing  this  work.  Many  such  notes  show  such  a 
lack  of  it,  and  so  much  misunderstanding,  as  might  well  drive  the  in- 
structor to  the  practice  of  formal  dictation. 

If  the  instructor  has  carefully  and  advisedly  placed  the  more  im- 
portant portions  of  his  lecture  in  precise  and  clear  statements,  which 
concentrate  in  themselves  many  facts  and  much  thought,  he  must, 
naturally,  desire  that  his  hearers  shall  understand  this,  and  shall,  ac- 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  203 

cordingly,  take  down  these  propositions  accurately,  in  order  that  they 
may  afterward  be  possessed  of  an  analytic  compend  which  will  serve 
to  recall  the  course  of  the  discussion  to  their  minds,  and  to  enable 
them  to  reproduce  it.  Hearers  who  do  not  take  down  such  statements, 
show  faulty  indifference  and  lack  of  intelligence.* 

To  determine  the  qualities  of  a  good  lecture  is  difficult,  because 
different  subjects  require  to  be  taught  in  different  ways,  and  particu- 
larly because  instructors  proceed,  and  must  proceed,  according  to  their 
individual  endowments,  in  the  most  various  modes.  How  different, 
for  instance,  were  the  lectures  of  Werner,  Steffens,  and  F.  A.  Wolf, 
though  each  was  a  master  in  his  own  style.  Werner's  lectures  on 
mineralogy  and  geognosy  were  confined  within  the  limits  of  experience. 
He  spoke  calmly,  intelligibly,  and  instructively;  his  pupil,  Steffens, 
on  the  contrary,  with  winged  enthusiasm.  Empirical  facts  served  the 
latter  only  for  the  building-stones  of  the  architectonic  structure  of  his 
inner  natural  history  of  the  earth.  He  hurried  his  hearers  along  with 
him ;  and  without  having  the  exclusive  purpose  of  communicating  to 
them  empirical  facts,  he  awoke  in  them  a  desire  for  the  acquirement  of 
them.  Wolf,  again,  taught  in  a  manner  still  very  different.  A 
thoroughly  learned,  acute,  and  enthusiastic  scholar  in  the  ancients, 
elements,  seemingly  the  most  repugnant,  were  united  in  him, — learn- 
ing, enthusiastic  love,  keen  criticism ;  and  these  traits,  together,  made 
his  lectures,  in  the  highest  degree,  at  once  attractive  and  instructive. 
Thus  might  be  described  many  teachers,  who  each  taught  in  a  masterly 
manner,  but  each  in  a  style  quite  peculiar  to  himself. 

The  gifts  of  a  teacher  are  often  measured  by  his  acceptability  to  the 
students.  Such  a  rule  is,  however,  not  correct;  for  a  competent  judge 
must  be  able  to  pass  both  upon  the  substance  of  a  lecture,  and  its  style 
and  delivery.  But  pupils  who  sit  at  the  feet  of  a  teacher  can  not, 
generally,  have  any  well-founded  opinion  as  to  whether  he  is  thorough 
in  his  department,  and  therefore  entitled  to  full  confidence.  And  ac- 
cordingly, it  is  frequently  and  lamentably  the  case,  that  empty,  ignorant 
declaimers  give  most  satisfaction,  while  the  quiet  delivery  of  the  most 
profound  professors  is  found  wearisome.f  This  complaint,  in  particu- 
lar, is  often  made  of  the  latter,  that  they  do  not  stimulate  their  hearers. 
But  is  it  the  sole  fault  of  the  teacher  that  his  discourse  does  not  stimu- 
late ;  and  are  not  the  hearers  themselves  often  to  blame,  as  lacking  in 

*  A  compendium  might  fill  the  place  of  this  dictation  ;  and  would,  indeed,  gradually  proceed 
from  it  To  read  from  a  compendium  prepared  by  another,  must  usually  be,  to  an  independent 
instructor,  who  has  other  purposes  than  to  do  a  mere  "forwarding  business,"  no  less  irksome 
than  to  wear  another  man's  coat,  which  does  not  fit. 

t  Eloquence  must  contain  something  agreeable,  and  something  real ;  but  what  is  agreeable 
must  be  real.— rascal. 


204  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

intellect  and  receptivity  ?*  F.  A.  Wolf  says,  in  academical  discourses, 
that  he  requires  of  the  professor  to  teach  the  truth,  and  this  not  in  the 
manner  of  an  actor,  but  in  a  style  adapted  to  his  subject  and  his 
audience.  Then,  addressing  the  students,  he  adds  :  "  Of  you  it  is  re- 
quired that  you  have  your  ears  open  to  the  lectures."! 

I  will  here  add  a  remark  on  the  maxim  "  Vox  viva  docet"  The 
proverb  Docendo  discimus,  "  Teaching  teaches  us,"  has  reference  to  the 
reaction  of  his  occupation  upon  the  teacher.  But  this  means  not  only 
that  the  knowledge  of  the  industrious  teacher  increases  by  his  occupa- 
tion, but  has  a  second  and  deeper  meaning. 

For,  if  an  oral  address  makes  a  much  more  profound  impression 
upon  an  audience  than  mere  quiet  reading,  he,  on  the  other  hand,  who 
merely  writes  books  for  a  public  entirely  unknown  to  him,  fails  entirely 
of  that  inspiriting  influence  which  comes  to  the  speaker  from  a  circle 
of  dear  and  attentive  hearers.  How  great  this  is,  is  indicated  by  a  re- 
mark of  F.  A.  Wolf,  who  says,  M I  have  long  been  accustomed  to  the 
pleasant  stimulus  wThich  comes  from  the  development,  eye  to  eye, 
of  my  thoughts  before  an  attentive  audience,  and  from  the  vivid  re- 
action which  is  so  easily  felt  from  it  by  the  teacher ;  and  this  awakens 
an  inspiriting  voice  within  me,  every  day  and  every  hour,  which  is  as 
quickly  silenced  by  the  seat  before  the  empty  wall  and  the  insensible 
paper." 

To  return  from  this  digression — I  would  refer  particularly  to  lec- 
tures in  some  real  studies,  in  which  the  teachers  must  require  the  stu- 
dents to  have  not  only  their  ears,  but  their  eyes  open.  How  great  a 
defect  often  exists  in  this  particular,  I  have  already  observed  in  the 
chapter  on  instruction  in  natural  science.  Many  are  far  more  attracted 
by  quite  unreal  words,  by  chatter  about  things,  than  by  the  things 
themselves.  Suppose  a  picture,  by  Raphael,  to  hang  on  one  wall,  and 
some  declaimer  to  stand  opposite,  who  delivers,  in  poetical  prose,  a  high- 
flown  oration  upon  the  picture — would  not  most  of  any  audience  turn 
their  backs  to  the  picture  and  give  their  whole  attention  to  the  de- 
claimer ?  So  entirely  is  it  the  practice  to  learn  by  words  only,  and  to 
make  no  use  of  the  eyes. 

This  brings  me  back  to  the  beginning  of  my  discussion :  to  the 
comparison  of  the  methods  of  teaching  by  lectures  and  by  dialogue. 

*  See  Eaumer's  Pddogogik,  part  it,  p.  352. 

t"-4  vobis  exigitur  id  ad  novas  auditiones  afferatis  aures.'"  What  he  means  by  aures 
appears  from  another  of  his  addresses,  delivered  at  the  opening  of  his  seminary,  in  1787,  viz. : 
"Had  I  entertained  the  personal  views  so  usual  with  many,  I  should  have  prepared  my  dis- 
courses rather  for  the  ear  than  for  the  understanding.  But  I  know  that  my  business  is,  not  to 
procure  a  multitude  of  hearers,  but  to  promote  thorough  knowledge."  I  refer,  further,  to  the 
excellent  observations  by  Wolf,  given  in  Kaumers  Pad.,  part  ii.  p.  361,  et  eeq. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  205 

It  is  sufficiently  evident,  when  the  number  of  the  audience  is  great, 
that  the  latter  is  impossible ;  that  Savigny  could  not  have  used  it  on 
the  pandects,  with  his  audience  of  three  hundred,  or  Neander,  on 
church  history,  with  the  hundreds  of  his ;  aside  from  the  fact  that  it  is 
a  method  not  adapted  to  these  studies. 

But  it  is  equally  certain  that  the  mode  by  lectures  will  not  instruct 
in  empirical  mineralogy,  botany,  zoology,  &c,  where  distinct  bodily 
vision  is  requisite ;  or,  at  least,  where  the  pupil  must  receive  practical 
instruction  at  the  same  time,  as  in  the  case  of  applied  chemistry. 
Many  other  real  studies  are  in  the  same  category,  which  have,  even 
now,  long  been  taught  only  in  private  seminaries  and  courses  of  les- 
sons, as  the  catalogues  show.  Such  are  the  studies  which  such  pri- 
vate seminaries,  for  exegesis,  homiletics,  catechetics,  dogmatic  history, 
and  philosophy,  offer  to  teach.  Students  in  these  escape  from  the  pas- 
sivity which  is  necessary  at  a  lecture.  The  teacher  deals  with  them, 
not  as  one  man,  but  directs  himself  to  each  one ;  and  every  one,  whether 
orally  or  in  writing,  must  give  active  co-operation,  and  apply  and  learn 
to  use  his  faculties,  under  the  direction  of  the  teacher. 

This  clearly  presents  the  contrast  between  instruction  by  lectures 
and  by  dialogue. 

But  suppose  the  case  that  where  a  study — as  mineralogy — abso- 
lutely requires  the  dialogic  method,  the  audience  is  so  numerous  as  to 
make  it  quite  impossible  for  the  teacher  to  direct  his  attention  to  each 
individual,  and  to  instruct  him  alone,  what  is  to  be  done?  I  know  no 
better  plan  than,  where  possible,  to  subdivide  the  number,  and  instruct 
each  section  separately.  It  is  more  profitable,  where  forty  persons 
attend  a  course  of  six  lessons,  to  instruct  each  half  of  them  during 
three  lessons,  than  to  instruct  them  all  together  during  six.* 

But  how  frequently  are  mineralogy  and  other  studies 'taught  from 
the  chair  to  hundreds !  It  is,  at  the  same  time,  admitted  that,  without 
examining  the  stones  themselves,  the  completest  descriptions  of  them 
are  altogether  useless,  and  that  those  who  have  not  seen  the  stones 
themselves,  can  not  represent  them  in  their  minds.  This  defect  it  has 
been  sought  to  remedy  by  sufficiently  awkward  means.  One  exhibits 
his  specimens  from  the  desk  only,  even  to  his  most  distant  hearers ; 
although  even  the  nearest  can  get  no  satisfactory  idea  of  them.  Nor 
is  any  fixed  idea  of  them  obtained  by  another  method,  of  passing  the 
specimens  before  the  painfully  staring  eyes  of  the  students,  in  cases,  on 
a  table,  like  a  shadow  on  the  wall.  By  these  means  the  pupils  re- 
ceive only  words  ;  and  do  not  become  acquainted  with  the  things 


*8ee  Raumer's  Pad.,  on  instruction  in  natural  science,  part  iii.  p.  158;  and  part  ii.  p.  442. 


206  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

themselves.     Tliey  remain    in    real    ignorance,  unless  they  afterward 
are  able  to  examine  thoroughly  mineralogical  collections. 

In  conclusion,  one  great  advantage  should  be  mentioned  which  the 
dialogic  method  has  over  that  by  lectures,  namely:  that  it  enables  the 
teacher  to  obtain  a  personal  aequaintance  with  the  students,  and  thus 
to  put  himself  on  friendly  terms  with  them.  It  is  an  uncomfortable 
thing  to  lecture,  year  after  year,  to  an  audience  of  strangers,  even  if 
Wolf  is  right  in  saying  even  the  silent  students  before  us  have  a  re- 
active influence  on  their  teacher.*  One  often  wishes  to  say  to  the 
silent  bearers,  "Speak,  that  I  may  see  you." 

II.  Examinations. 

F.  A.  Wolf,  in  an  academical  address,  opposed  the  Greek  mode  of 
teaching,  by  dialogue,  and  advocated  the  method  by  lectures.  In 
order  that  the  students  might,  to  some  extent,  enjoy  the  advantages  of 
the  ancient  method,  there  should  be,  he  said,  examinations  and  dispu- 
tations;  and  he  added,  "Do  not  be  afraid  of  these  terms;  such  exer- 
cises will  be  of  great  service  to  you." 

Where  Wolf,  sixty  years  ago,  told  the  students  not  to  be  afraid,  it 
would  now  almost  be  necessary  to  say  it  to  the  professors,  if  they  were 
about  to  advocate  Wolfs  views  on  examinations,  in  order  that  they 
might  not  be  discouraged  by  the  numerous  opponents  of  all  examina- 
tions whatever. 

We  will  adhere,  in  what  relates  to  academical  laws,  to  the  principle 
that  no  law  which  is  made  with  reference  to  the  bad  shall  stand  in  the 
way  of  the  good. 

Many  claim  that  this  is  the  case  with  all  examinations  established 
by  law;  and  that  they  should,  therefore,  all  be  discontinued. 

But  should  this  be  so  in  all  cases?  Are  there  not  occasions  when 
examinations  are  quite  indispensable?  We  reply,  yes:  there  are  such 
cases.  Examinations  of  stipendiaries  may  be  an  example.  The  founders 
of  charities  for  the  support  of  such  persons  usually  require  strictly  that 
their  funds  shall  be  given  only  to  students,  industrious,  and  of  unblem- 
ished character.  The  professors  are  to  decide  whether  they  are  of 
unblemished  character,  and  industrious.  But  how  can  they  judge  of 
the  diligence  of  their  hearers,  especially  when  the  latter  are  numerous; 
and  when,  besides,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  they  are  so  near-sighted 
that  they  cannot  recognize  the  students,  except  those  who  sit  nearest 
the  desk  ? 


*  It  must  be  remembered  here,  that  Wolf,  partly  through  his  seminary,  and  partly  otherwise, 
knew  very  many  of  his  hearers,  and,  therefore,  was  more  influenced  by  their  presence  than 
would  have  been  the  case  with  professors  having  no  such  acquaintance,  or  not  a  near  one. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  207 

Mere  corporeal  presence  does  not  decide  the  question.  A  certain 
professor  observed  that  one  of  his  pupils  was  invariably  present ;  but 
also  observed,  very  plainly,  that  he  always  occupied  himself  in  reading- 
one  book,  which  its  uniform  indicated  to  have  come  from  a  circulating 
library. 

A  Prussian  ministerial  circular,  of  13th  January,  1835,  requires  that 
instructors,  in  giving  certificates,  should  act  with  the  strictest  care  and 
conscientiousness ;  and  recommends  them  to  be  observant  of  their  hear- 
ers, "  in  order  that  they  may  be  enabled  to  say,  with  certainty,  whether 
individuals  have  attended  their  lectures  diligently  or  not."  And,  it 
adds,  "  it  will  be  well  for  all  those  whom  the  number  of  their  hearers, 
or  their  near-sightedness,  prevents  from  sufficiently  close  observation 
of  all,  to  intrust  to  some  older  and  proper  student  from  among  them, 
the  business  of  a  beadle  or  assistant,  for  the  maintenance  of  punctual 
attendance."*  So  it  is  not  to  be  the  professors,  but  their  assistants, 
who  are  to  give  the  certificates ;  and  what  sort  of  students  would  sub- 
mit to  that  sort  of  management?  Another  circular,  of  29th  June, 
1827,  recommends  to  imitate  one  instructor  who,  "in  order  to  judge 
better  of  the  diligence  of  his  hearers,  sent  round,  at  unexpected  times 
during  his  lectures,  a  list,  which  those  students  present  were  to  sign  "f 
I  have  known  this  experiment  to  be  tried ;  but  those  present  were  ac- 
customed to  enter  their  absent  friends ;  so  that  once,  the  name  of  an 
absent  one  was  inadvertently  entered  twice,  by  two  of  his  friends.  In 
another  list  were  entered  such  names  as  Plato,  Aristotle,  &c. 

Such  modes  of  ascertaining  the  diligence  of  hearers  seeming  inad- 
missible and  unsuitable,  the  question  recurs,  How  shall  the  professors 
arrive  at  a  reliable  judgment  upon  that  diligence  ;  and  particularly  on 
the  point  supposed,  namely,  their  merits  in  reference  to  stipendiary 
allowances? 

The  answer  is, — Unless  they  would  declare  themselves  quite  im- 
proper persons  to  give  certificates  to  stipendiaries,  they  must,  them- 
selves, examine  them.  Only  such  professors  are  excepted  as  use  a 
dialogic  mode  of  teaching;  for  they  have  no  need  of  making  a  special 
examination  of  their  hearers,  since  they  examine  them  daily  in  teaching 
them,  and  thus  gain  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  them.  The  bene- 
fit, however,  of  subjecting  these  students  to  an  examination,  consists  in 
this :  that  their  grade  can  be  certified  to,  not  merely  by  the  instructor 
whose  lectures  they  have  attended,  but  by  all  professors  assisting  at  the 
examination.^ 

•Koch,  ii.  p.  511.  t lb.,  il.  p.  201. 

t  Accordingly,  the  regulations  of  3d  May,  1S35,  for  the  Bonn  Seminary,  for  all  the  natural 

No.  17.— [Vol.  VI.,  No.  2.]— 11 


208  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

That  idle  students,  with  evil  consciences,  should  object  to  the  exam- 
inations for  stipends,  is  natural,  and  does  not  trouble  us.  We  attach 
more  weight  to  the  views  of  their  better  fellows.  These,  as  they  have 
often  informed  me,  are  quite  satisfied  with  the  plan.  They  readily  see 
that,  in  competing  with  ignorant  companions  for  these  stipends,  they 
have  a  material  advantage  in  the  examination,  which  enables  them  to 
prove  themselves  worthy  of  preference. 

I  wish  it  were  not  to  be  said,  that  "  those  who  decide  in  the  matter 
of  these  stipends  make  little  inquiry  about  academical  testimonials ; 
the  motives  which  decide  their  selection  are  quite  different."  Although 
this  charge  may  be  true  of  many,  it  certainly  is  not  universally  so.  I, 
myself,  have  known  one  excellent  man,  who  had  an  important  influ- 
ence in  deciding  the  appropriation  of  many  stipends  by  cities,  and 
■who  was  exceedingly  conscientious  therein.  He  complained  bitterly, 
to  me,  that  so  little  reliance  could  be  placed  on  many  of  the  academi- 
cal testimonials,  in  forming  his  decision.* 

This  charge  of  disregard  to  such  testimonials  must  be  entirely  with- 
drawn. Others  must  answer  for  their  own  actions  in  reference  to  the 
matter  of  such  stipendiaries,  and  we  professors  for  our  own ;  and  we 
must  act  according  to  the  best  of  our  knowledge  and  belief,  without 
regard  to  consequences.  We  are  especially  bound  to  appropriate  such 
support,  as  far  as  we  can,  to  the  better  class  of  students.  It  must, 
naturally,  pain  us  to  see  immoral  and  idle  students  wasting  the  stipends 
which  our  pious  predecessors  intended  for  useful  purposes,  while  the 
most  industrious  ones  are  destitute  of  means  of  support,  and  can,  with 
difficulty,  get  through  their  studies.  But  how  distressing  must  it  be, 
when  we  have  to  accuse  ourselves  of  having  been,  by  careless  and  un- 
conscientiously  given  testimonials,  the  cause  of  such  miserable  in- 
justice ! 

What  has  thus  been  said  of  the  examination  of  stipendiaries,  applies 
to  all  cases  where  conscientious  academical  testimonials  are  required ; 

sciences,  say,  that  for  ft  certificate  for  a  member  of  the  seminary,  "  no  special  examination  is 
necessary,  inasmuch  as  the  attendance,  itself,  at  the  seminary,  is  a  constant  examination." 
(Koch,  ii.  p.  629.) 

*  A  student  applied  to  me  for  a  certificate  with  reference  to  a  stipend,  without  having  been 
previously  examined,  pretending  that  he  had  obtained  such  from  others  without  a  previous  ex- 
amination. But  on  being  made  to  stand  an  examination  in  mathematical  geography,  it  ap- 
peared that  he  knew  nothing  at  all  about  Copernicus.  Suppose  I  had  given  him,  on  his  assur- 
ance, a  good  testimonial,  and  he  had  handed  it  in,  with  his  application,  to  the  collator,  and  the 
latter  should  question  him  on  the  same  subject,  what  must  he  think  of  me,  on  discovering  his 
excessive  ignorance?  Undoubtedly  that  I  gave  testimonials  most  unconscientiously,  and  that 
I  was  not  to  be  relied  on.  In  giving  every  such  testimonial,  we  should  ask  ourselves  whether 
we  could  certify  to  the  same  after  an  expert  had  examined  the  applicant.  We  may  err,  it  is 
true,  in  our  examination  of  such  students;  but  such  error  is  human,  excusable,  and  no  blemish 
on  our  official  honor. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  209 

and  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  those  examinations  there  ought  scarcely 
to  be  a  doubt  among  honest  men. 

As  to  other  examinations,  where  this  necessity  is  not  so  evident, 
opinions  differ. 

Although,  as  has  been  said,  the  better  class  of  students  are  in  favor 
of  the  stipendiary  examinations,  they  consider  themselves  somewhat 
annoyed  by  other  ones.  Yet  they  allow  that  they  are,  by  means  of 
them,  obliged  to  a  useful  review  of  the  lectures.  Young  medical  stu- 
dents, who  must,  at  their  examination  for  practice,  stand  an  examina- 
tion in  mineralogy,  have  confessed  to  me  that  it  was  only  the  expectation 
of  this  examination  which  kept  them  from  giving  up  the  lectures,  even 
during  the  first  weeks  of  the  course.  In  the  progress  and  at  the  close 
of  it,  however,  they  found  that  in  mineralogy,  as  in  all  studies,  the 
commencement  may  probably  be  difficult,  and  even  wearisome,  to 
beginners  who  have  no  knowledge  of  what  they  are  to  learn.*  Their 
perseverance,  however,  they  said,  was  rewarded,  for  they  ultimately 
became  interested  in  the  study,  finding  great  pleasure,  especially  in  the 
mathematical  beauty  of  the  crystals.  From  that  period  they  pursued 
their  study  without  any  reference  to  the  coming  examination. 

Thus  the  examinations  have  a  good  influence,  even  on  the  better 
class  of  students,  who  might  seem  to  have  no  need  whatever  of  such  a 
stimulus ;  it  is  admitted  that  the  less  industrious,  and  the  idle,  need 
such  exterior  incitements.  With  regard  to  these,  it  is  only  to  be  in- 
quired whether  the  examinations  actually  cause  industry,  and  whether 
it  is  an  industry  of  the  right  kind. 

Laws,  it  is  true,  can  not  make  men  industrious;  but  this  is  no 
reason  why  we  should  become  anarchists.  If  idle  persons  are  con- 
strained to  labor,  it  may,  in  time, become  agreeable  to  them;  but  with- 
out constraint  they  will  neglect  it  entirely. 

Still,  objections  are  made  against  all  academical  examinations,  of 
every  kind. 

1.  F.  A.  Wolf  said,  "They  study  ill  who  study  for  examinations; 
well,  who  study  for  themselves,  and  for  life."  When  our  objectors 
cite  this  remark,  the}7  should  also  consider  that  Wolf  also  said,  that 
examinations  will  "  be  of  valuable  service"  to  the  students.  The  former 
observation  was  evidently  aimed  at  those  low-minded  students  who, 
without  any  love  of  learning,  busy  themselves  with  it  only  so  far  as  is 
absolutely  necessary  in  order  to  pass  a  decent  examination. 

What  well-intentioned  student  would,  in  that  sense,  "  study  for  ex- 

*  Let  anyone  remember  the  beginning  of  his  studies  in  language;  his  learning  by  rote  of 


mensa  and  amo. 


14 


210  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

animations  V  But  lie  might,  however,  be  influenced  in  respect  to  his 
studies,  by  a  judiciously  ordered  future  examination,  thus  far :  that,  by 
a  proper  selection  and  limitation  of  subjects  for  examination,  they 
would  direct  him  to  an  appropriate  choice  of  studies.  An  expectation 
of  a  future  examination  would  also  be  needful  to  lead  him  to  a  pre- 
paratory self-examination  as  to  what  he  knows  with  certainty,  and 
what  not ;  in  order  that,  by  means  of  the  self-knowledge  thus  acquired, 
he  may  endeavor  to  till  up  deficiencies  in  his  knowledge,  and  elucidate 
what  is  obscure. 

Capable  examiners  will  also,  in  most  cases,  easily  distinguish  be- 
tween candidates  who  have  labored  with  genuine  love  of  learning,  and 
have  made  their  studies  actually  their  own,  have  intellectually  assimi- 
lated them,  and  such  as  have  merely  hung  themselves  about  with  all 
manner  of  materials ;  have  laid  in  matter  in  the  vestibule  of  their 
memory,  to  be  displayed  on  occasion  of  the  examination,  and  afterward 
thrown  contemptuously  away. 

Nor  can  we  partake  in  the  apprehension  that  an  illiberal  character 
will  be  impressed  on  all  the  students  by  the  examinations.  A  nature 
which  is  illiberal  and  vulgar  will  remain  so,  examined  or  not;  and  one 
which  is  liberal  and  noble  can  not  be  demoralized  or  vulgarized  by  all 
the  examinations  in  the  world. 

2.  A  second  charge  against  the  examinations,  related  to  the  former, 
seems  to  touch  the  honor  of  the  students.  Examinations,  it  is  said,  are 
for  schools, — for  boys,  who  are  unable  to  control  themselves,  and  require 
the  guidance  and  stimulus  of  teachers.  Students  are  emancipated  from 
such  control;  to  examine  them  is  to  treat  them  like  school-boys.  Such 
a  pretense  pertains  especially  to  students  who  are  glad  to  shelter  their 
idleness  under  the  noble  patronage  of  freedom  and  honor. 

It  seems  to  be  forgotten  that  examinations  are  used  before  the  period 
of  student-life,  and  after  it  too  :  namely,  the  state  examinations.  Why 
should  examinations  be  dishonorable  to  students,  as  putting  them  in 
the  place  of  boys,  and  be  no  dishonor  to  candidates  for  public  offices? 
It  is  also  overlooked,  that  school  examinations  are  shaped,  both  as  to 
form  and  subjects,  according  to  the  character  of  the  school,  and  aca- 
demical ones  according  to  that  of  the  university;  and  also  that  the 
term  examination  includes  two  very  different  ideas.  No  university  ex- 
aminer will  treat  the  students  like  gymnasiasts ;  yet  he  may  justly 
require  that  their  attainments  shall  not  be  at,  or  under,  the  level  of 
those  of  the  gymnasium  ;  so  that  he  may  have  to  ask  some  questions 
such  as  would  be  prominent,  however,  only  at  a  school  examination. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  imagined,  that  since  I  thus  defend  the  examina- 
tions, and  seek  to  refute  so  many  objections  to  them,  I  am  blind 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  211 

against  the  many  faults  and  evils  connected  with  them.  This  is  far 
from  the  case;  I  have,  during  my  professorship  of  more  than  forty 
years,  had  abundant  opportunity  to  become  acquainted  with  those 
faults  and  evils.     Let  us  turn  our  attention  to  them. 

1.  While  many  persons  are  lately  opposing  all  examinations  of  any 
kind,  others  can  not  have  enough  of  them ;  and  would,  by  their  means, 
oblige  all  students  to  the  most  industrious  labor.  At  Mainz  the  stu- 
dents are  examined  every  week.  At  this  place,  even,  the  same  stu- 
dents were,  heretofore,  examined  every  half-year,  in  two  examinations 
near  together, — one  for  their  general  progress,  and  one  for  stipendiary 
allowances.  It  is  evident  how  superfluous,  and  even  harmful,  such  a 
practice  must  be. 

2.  It  is  an  evil,  especially  in  the  larger  universities,  that  the  number 
of  candidates  is  very  great,  so  that  the  time  which  can  be  devoted  to 
each  must  be  made  very  brief.  How  can  it  be  possible,  ask  many,  to 
discover  in  ten  minutes  whether  a  candidate  is  well  acquainted  with  a 
study  or  not  ?  But  this,  though  certainly  an  evil,  is  not  so  great  a 
one  as  it  might,  at  first  sight,  appear. 

Suppose  a  candidate  is  to  be  examined  in  three  departments,  and 
that  an  average  of  eight  minutes  is  employed  on  each,  he  will  be  ex- 
amined twenty-four  minutes  in  all.  Any  one  who  observes  the  exami- 
nation attentively,  and  observes  particularly  the  character  of  the 
candidate's  answers,  and  how  he  deals  with  difficult  questions,  can 
form  an  opinion,  very  soon,  on  his  capacity  and  mode  of  study.  The 
examiner  can,  moreover,  abridge  the  proceeding,  by  selecting  ques- 
tions which,  without  requiring  too  much  from  the  candidate,  shall  yet 
be  real  experimenta  cruris,  and  such  that  scarcely  any  further  ones  need 
be  put  to  one  who  answers  them  clearly  and  correctly.* 

But  the  evil  arising  from  a  large  number  of  candidates  may  chiefly 
be  remedied  by  this :  that  all  who  have  been  instructed  in  the  dia- 
logic method,  in  seminaries  or  otherwise,  being  as  well  understood 
as  if  already  examined,  need  very  little  further  examination,  or  none  at 
all,  as  has  already  been  observed  in  relation  to  stipendiary  ex- 
aminations. 

3.  It  is  charged  that  a  large  share  of  the  examiners  lack  the  requi- 
site skill  in  examining.  Some,  it  is  said,  are  not  satisfied  with  any 
answer  which  is  not  given  precisely  according  to  their  own  preconcep- 


*  In  an  examination  on  mathematical  geography,  the  most  ignorant  candidate  can  easily  learn 
by  rote  how  many  zones  there  are,  and  what  are  their  limits ;  but  an  answer  to  the  question, 
How  must  I  travel,  so  that  during  a  whole  year,  the  sun  shall  pass  my  zenith  every  noon  ? 
could,  with  difficulty,  be  learned  by  rote,  but  would  have  to  be  prepared  on  the  spot,  from 
knowledge  already  acquired. 


212  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

tions;  and  are  unable  to  enter  into  any  statement  made  from  another 
point  of  view,  and  justly  to  judge  of  it.  Others  limit  themselves  to 
some  fixed  question,  and  adhere  pitilessly  to  it,  though  they  may 
see  that  the  candidate  is  not  at  home  on  the  subject ;  instead  of  seek- 
ing to  find  out,  by  other  questions,  whether  he  is  not  better  acquainted 
with  a  second  or  third  subject,  &c.  Others,  again,  fail  in  this  :  that 
they  give  the  candidates  no  opportunity  to  answer  the  questions  which 
they  put  to  them,  but  answer  them  themselves ;  thus,  of  course,  not 
being  able  to  have  any  opinion  about  the  candidate,  and  yet  delivering 
one  upon  him ;  and  so  on.* 

4.  It  is  said  that  the  result  of  the  examinations  is  uncertain,  because 
candidates  are  so  different ;  some  of  them  being  entirely  at  their  ease 
during  the  examination,  and  answering  questions  with  entire  presence 
of  mind,  while  the  timid  and  bashful  often  lose  their  presence  of  mind 
so  entirely  as  not  to  be  able  to  reply  to  the  slightest  question ;  while, 
notwithstanding,  they  are  often  much  more  capable  than  such  ready 
answerers.     Must  not  this  cause  erroneous  and  unjust  estimates  ? 

Evils  resulting  from  incapacity  of  examiners  and  bashfulness  of 
candidates  will  be  remedied  by  written  examinations.  But  if  the 
examiners  have  even  a  moderate  knowledge  of  their  duties,  they  will 
be  able  to  reassure  the  timid,  and  not  to  over-estimate  readiness.  In 
any  event,  a  better  estimate  of  the  candidates  can  be  made  by  an  oral 
examination,  as  to  whether  they  are  in  an  error  or  on  the  right  track, 
and  to  ascertain  whether  their  minds  are  in  active  operation,  or  their 
modes  of  thought  are  unwieldy.  But,  if  a  written  examination  is  the 
only  one  used,  oral  conversation  with  the  candidates  upon  their  work, 
when  done,  is  still  very  necessary,  for  more  than  one  reason. 

It  is  very  usual  to  give  three  marks  at  examinations:  distinguished, 
good,  and  bad.  These  are  not  sufficient,  and  often  leave  the  examiners 
in  a  perplexing  situation.  They  will  give  the  first  only  in  the  most 
remarkable  cases  of  excellence,  and  the  last  only  in  the  very  worst 
cases.  Thus,  the  intermediate  mark  is  that  most  frequently  given,  and 
to  candidates  of  very  different  attainments ;  some  near  to  one  of  the 
extremes,  and  some  to  the  other.  The  use  of  five  marks  would  remove 
this  unfair  equalization. 

*  Meiners,  in  his  work  on  the  German  Universities,  makes  charges  against  the  examinations, 
honorable  neither  to  students,  professors,  nor  himself.  A  university  where  vulgarity  prevails  ia 
beyond  help. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  213 

III.  Compulsory  Lectures. — Freedom  ok  Attendance. — Lyceums. — Relations  of 
the  Philosophical  Faculty  and  its  Lectures  to  the  Practical  Branches. 

Compulsory  lectures  have  been  opposed  from  all  quarters,  and,  in 
general,  with  great  justice.  But  it  must  first  be  determined  what  this 
ominous  term  means. 

There  are  academical  studies  which  the  student  can  sufficiently  master 
by  himself,  from  books ;  and  others  for  which  distinct  teachers  and 
means  of  instruction  are  indispensable.  To  the  latter  belong  most  of 
the  practical  natural  sciences,  and  most  departments  of  medical  study. 
The  very  nature  of  these  pursuits  require  such,  without  any  legal  enact- 
ments ;  though  the  lectures  on  them  are  still  not  compulsory  ones.  The 
medical  student  must  attend  lectures  on  anatomy  and  obstetrics ;  he 
can  not  pursue  them  by  himself.  But,  still  consider  these  not  as  com- 
pulsory lectures,  but  merely  as  in  themselves  necessary. 

While,  in  former  times,  not  only  all  the  subjects  were  prescribed  on 
which  lectures  must  be  attended,  but  also  the  persons  who  were  to 
.deliver  them,  and  their  order,  at  present  the  opposite  extreme  prevails  ; 
even  so  far  that  it  is  demanded  that  it  shall  not  even  be  required  of  a 
student  to  live  at  the  university,  or  to  attend  so  much  as  one  lecture. 
The  questions  naturally  arise  here,  Why,  then,  do  the  students  live  at 
the  university  at  all  ?  and,  if  this  demand  be  reasonable,  Why  should 
there  be  any  universities  ? 

The  reason  of  establishing  compulsory  lectures,  and  the  order  of 
attending  them,  is  clear.  It  was  because  the  students,  especially  be- 
ginners, were  unacquainted  with  the  right  method  of  studying.  They 
were,  therefore,  assisted,  and  in  the  simplest  way,  by  the  definite 
peremptory  prescription  of  a  course  of  study. 

This  conception  was  very  excusable,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  entire 
ignorance  and  indecision  of  so  many  students,  especially  new-comers, 
as  to  the  selection  of  lectures  to  be  attended.  It  was  considered  how 
frequently,  at  leaving  the  university,  students  said,  "  If  we  could  pursue 
our  studies  over  again,  we  would  take  an  altogether  different  course." 
And  it  was  believed  that  the  fixing  of  a  course,  to  be  closely  adhered 
to,  would  save  them  their  hesitation  at  the  beginning  of  their  univer- 
sity life,  and  their  repentance  at  the  end  of  it. 

In  later  times,  the  ancient  strictly  compulsory  rule  was  relaxed,  as 
if  to  make  good  Taubmann's  definition  of  a  student — "  an  animal  which 
will  not  be  forced,  but  persuaded."  This  was  the  case  in  Bavaria,  and 
in  Prussia.  The  faculties  of  the  Prussian  universities  published  courses 
of  study,  but  with  the  express  remark  that  they  did  not  prescribe,  but 
only  advised  them.     In  the  course  for  medical  students,  at  Berlin,  of 


214  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

August  3,  1827,  it  is  said,  "As  every  student  must  desire,  not  only  to 
have  before  him  a  general  view  of  the  lectures  which  he  is  to  attend 
while  a  student,  but  also  to  see  them  arranged  in  a  suitable  order,  that 
he  may  be  under  no  misapprehensions  in  selecting,  the  medical  faculty 
publishes  the  following  course  for  their  students,  at  subscribing  to  a 
course,  as  paternal  advice  ;  and  requests  that  every  one,  in  case  of  any 
doubt  relative  to  the  course,  will  apply  to  his  fellows,  or  to  the  dean, 
or  some  other  member  of  the  faculty;  inasmuch  as  nothing  can  be 
more  desirable  to  them  than  to  afford  all  the  assistance  in  their  power, 
in  order  to  the  best  use  of  the  student's  exertions."*  Then  follows  the 
course  of  lectures  for  each  of  the  eight  half-years.     For  example  : 

"First  half-year. — Encyclopedia  of  Medicine;  Botany,  with  excur- 
sions; Osteology;  Physics;  Greek  and  Latin  lectures,  Mathematical 
and  Philosophical  lectures ;  as  the  student  may  require." 

The  course  of  study  (in  Latin)  of  the  theological  faculty  at  Bonn,  of 
3d  June,  1829,  says:  "Wherefore,  either  comply  with  this,  our  ad- 
vice, or,  if  you  have  one  to  propose  better  adapted  to  the  peculiar 
character  of  your  studies"f     .     .     . 

In  the  course  of  study,  however,  laid  down  by  the  theological  faculty 
at  Halle,  for  their  students,  in  1832,  they  say,  without  more  ado,  that 
the  students  are  in  great  need  of  good  advice.  "  The  study  of  theol- 
ogy," they  observe,  "  is  always,  as  a  long  experience  has  taught  us, 
begun  by  very  many  persons  who  have  no  clear  idea  of  its  extent,  of 
the  connection  of  its  parts,  or  of  the  most  proper  method  of  becoming 
familiar  with  it.  Indeed,  only  a  few  have  an  opportunity,  before  leav- 
ing school,  to  acquire  this  previous  and  so  necessary  knowledge.  Hence 
so  much  uncertainty  and  error  in  choice  of  lectures,  so  many  mistaken 
estimates  of  the  comparative  importance  of  different  matters,  so  much 
lack  of  a  regular  plan  of  study,  even  where  there  is  serious  industry ; 
and  hence  the  loud  complaints  so  frequently  heard  at  the  close  of  the 
academical  course,  of  discovering,  when  it  is  too  late,  a  mode  in  which 
those  years  might  have  been  much  better  used." 

But  this  plan  does  not  arbitrarily  determine  that  certain  lectures 
must,  or  must  not,  be  attended  by  students ;  it  only  fixes  the  order  in 
which  they  should  be  heard;  it  advises;  is,  in  fact,  a  compendious 
system  of  hodegetics. 

Obligatory  attendance  is  the  less  objectionable,  as  theological,  legal, 
and  medical  students  must  pass  a  government  examination  at  the  end 

*  Koch,  ii.  p.  201. 

+  Koch,  ii.  p.  204.  See  same,  p.  209,  for  philosophical  course  at  Halle;  p.  216,  for  theological 
course  there;  p.  235,  for  theological  course  of  1837,  at  Bonn;  p.  239,  for  jurisprudence  there; 
p.  245,  for  medicine  there. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  215 

of  their  studies,  and  present,  at  this,  certificates  of  the  lectures  they 
have  attended.  No  person  can  present  himself  as  self-taught;  and 
even  if  such  a  preparation  be  admitted  in  some  studies,  the  examiners 
would,  and  with  propriety,  examine  him  very  strictly  upon  them,  to 
ascertain  what  he  had  accomplished  for  himself. 

The  practical  courses  of  the  three  faculties  might  properly  be  called 
compulsory  courses,  although  they  do  not  so  appear  to  the  students. 
Even  the  less  industrious  of  them  do  not  consider  whether  or  no  they 
will  attend  lectures  on  exegesis  and  dogmatics,  the  pandects,  or  anat- 
omy. Every  one  is  anxious  to  pass,  with  credit,  the  government  ex- 
amination on  these  studies,  and  thus  to  obtain  a  recognized  standing, 
and  an  appointment. 

What  is  true  of  the  students  of  theology,  law,  and  medicine,  is  also 
true  as  to  philological  and  mathematical  lectures,  of  those  of  philology 
and  mathematics,  in  the  philosophical  faculty,  who  intend  to  become 
teachers.  But  what  is  the  case  with  such  lectures  of  the  philosophi- 
cal faculty  as  are  not  practical — do  not  refer  directly  to  a  future  pro- 
fession ?  As  for  medicine,  the  statutes  of  the  medical  faculty  at  Bonn 
say,  §  20,*  "With  the  regular  medical  course  must  be  pursued,  either 
before  it  or  parallel  with  it,  a  philosophical  preparatory  course,  to  in- 
clude the  following  studies  of  the  philosophical  faculty :  classical  phi- 
lology, logic,  psychology,  mineralogy,  botany,  zoology,  physics,  and 
chemistry."  On  these  the  medical  student  is  examined,  and  must 
have  a  certificate  of  the  examination.!  There  is  a  similar  examination  of 
medical  students  (the  so-called  examination  for  admission)  at  Erlangeu  ; 
the  subjects  of  it  being  zoology,  botany,  miueralogy,  physics,  chemis- 
try, and  pharmacognosy.  These  studies  seem  to  be  regarded  as  belong- 
ing, not  to  the  general,  but  to  the  professional  education  of  a  physician. 

Gymnasium  pupils  are  obliged,  without  making  any  selection,  to 
learn  whatever  is  taught  at  the  gymnasium  ;  and  the  students  are  under 
a  like  necessity  with  respect  to  professional  studies.  But  what  is  the 
fact  as  to  those  lectures  in  the  philosophical  faculty,  which  have  no 
direct  relation  to  the  theological  and  juridical  professional  studies,  but 
only  to  general  education  ?  This  question  is  difficult  to  answer,  because 
different  opinions  prevail  respecting  it  in  different  countries  of  Germany, 
all  of  which  have  again  been  modified,  in  many  ways,  in  the  course  of 
time,  sometimes  very  materially,  as  appears  from  the  example  of  the 
university  of  Erlangen. 

Here,  formerly,  every  student  was  obliged,  during  his  first  year,  to 

*  Koch,  ii.  pp.  246,  260. 

t  See  Koch,  ii.  pp.  66,  72,  the  ministerial  rescripts  of  January  7, 1326,  and  October  23,  182S. 


21  G  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

attend  lectures  on  general  history,  physics,  logic,  philosophy,  mathe- 
matics, and  natural  history ;  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  unhappy 
fellows  were  examined,  all  at  once,  in  all  these  heterogeneous  subjects ; 
and  only  after  passing  their  examination  satisfactorily  were  they 
allowed  to  proceed  to  professional  studies.*  These  six  courses 
were  called,  in  derision,  Fox  lectures  ;f  they  were  attended,  list- 
ened to,  usually,  with  repugnance  and  carelessness ;  and  much  pleas- 
ure was  felt  when  the  concluding  examination  (Fox  examination)  was 
over. 

It  is  evident  how  discouraging  and  burdensome  this  arrangement 
must  have  been  for  any  professor  who  loved  his  science,  and  the  suc- 
cessful teaching  of  it ;  and  it  was  not  less  extremely  unsuitable  to  the 
students,  and  unfavorable  to  all  free  and  right-minded  education.  For 
these  reasons  measures  were  taken  against  the  regulation  ;  a  proceed- 
ing the  more  necessary,  because  the  philosophical  faculty  was  sharply 
distinguished  from  the  three  other  faculties  by  the  fact  that  the  stu- 
dents were  under  its  tuition  during  their  first  year,  but  heard  no  lec- 
tures from  it  during  their  other  years  at  the  university. 

But,  still  further,  it  was  but  a  step  to  the  idea  of  entirely  separating 
the  philosophical  faculty  from  the  university,  and  of  establishing,  in- 
stead of  it,  distinctively  Protestant  institutions  elsewhere,  called  lyce- 
ums.  A  lyceum,  for  both  Catholics  and  Protestants,  was  actually 
established,  in  1839,  at  Speyer,  which,  for  a  long  time,  caused  annoy- 
ance to  the  university  of  Erlangen.  The  danger  came  still  nearer 
when,  especially  in  1843,  there  was  a  serious  plan  for  setting  up  two 
Protestant  lyceums  in  Ansbach  and  Baireuth.  If  this  plan  had  suc- 
ceeded there  would  have  been  an  end  to  the  university,  and  we  should 
have  had  professional  schools  instead  of  it.  Against  this  very  import- 
ant scheme,  I  published,  in  1843,  the  following  article  :| 

LYCEUMS. 

Gymnasiums  have  an  important  and  definite  difference  from  univer- 
sities, in  that  they  give  general  education  only  as  a  basis  for  profes- 
sional education ;  while  the  arrangement  by  faculties  characterizes  the 
universities,  and  is  to  facilitate  the  passage  into  practical  life.  Even 
in  the  highest  gymnasium  classes,  the  future  theologians,  jurists,  and 
physicians,  without  distinction,  recite  the  same  lessons ;  while,  in  the 


*  Beginners  were  always  permitted  to  attend  an  introductory  course  during  that  first  year, 
hut  obliged  to  attend  the  six  courses  in  the  philosophical  faculty. 

t  With  a  reference  to  the  "foxes,"  or  freshmen.— [Trans.] 

$  "  Gazette  for  Protestantism  and  the  Church"  ("  Zeitsclirift  far  Protestantismus  und 
Xirche"),  for  1843.  I  give  the  article,  with  very  little  alteration,  hecause  I  yet  adhere  to  the 
tame  views. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  21 7 

first  year  at  the  university,  it  was  and  is  the  practice  to  give  lectures 
introductory  to  professional  studies. 

This  distinct  character  of  the  gymnasium  and  university  may  be- 
come confused,  namely :  by  adding  to  gymnasium  studies  arranged 
faculty- wise,  by  using  the  first  one  or  two  years  of  the  university  like 
those  spent  in  the  gymnasium,  for  studies  of  a  general  character;  or, 
by  the  erection  of  hybrid  institutions,  to  stand  between  the  gymnasium 
and  the  university,  for  the  purpose. 

Of  gymnasiums  with  academical  departments,  there  are  several 
examples.  Thus,  the  Dantzic  gymnasium  has  three  faculties,  which 
are  distinguished  in  the  upper  two  classes.  The  theological  faculty 
taught  dogmatics,  polemics,  and  even  exercises  in  preaching  were 
introduced;  the  jurists  lectured  on  the  institutions,  and  on  federal 
law  ;  and  the  medical  faculty  on  anatomy  and  physiology.  It  was  not 
until  lately  that  the  authorities  discontinued  "the  medley  of  university 
and  preparatory  school."  In  like  manner,  at  the  Stargard  gymnasium, 
were,  formerly,  read  lectures  on  exegesis,  church  history,  the  institu- 
tions, and  anatomy.  Here,  also,  the  conviction  followed,  that  such  a 
confusion  "  must  be  harmful  to  the  studies  proper  to  the  school."  A 
result  was,  as  might  have  been  expected,  that  the  "  collegial  students, 
considering  themselves  students,  and  not  boys,  acted  accordingly ;  not 
regarding  the  school-hours,  attending  recitations  only  as  they  saw  fit, 
and  occupying  themselves,  during  them,  as  they  chose."  In  the  year 
1770,  we  are  told,  "this  nuisance  with  an  academical  constitution," 
was  discontinued. 

The  experiment  which  a  minister  made,  toward  the  end  of  the  last 
century,  of  introducing  into  the  gymnasium,  for  future  law-students, 
the  Institutes  of  Heineccius  instead  of  Tacitus  and  Virgil,  excited  uni- 
versal displeasure. 

The  gymnasium  recognizes  no  professional  studies,  and  should  recog- 
nize none,  unless  it  designs  prematurely  and  violently  to  impress  upon 
unripe  boys  a  useless  professional  education. 

Now  to  discuss  the  second  question  :  Whether  it  is  advisable  to 
interfere  with  the  character  of  the  universities,  by  devoting  the  first 
year,  or  two  years  even,  to  general  studies,  excluding  those  of  the 
faculties ;  and  by  making  this  period  only  a  continuation  of  school 
studies — a  mere  preparatory  course  for  professional  studies — so  that 
the  students  shall  entirely  complete  their  general  studies,  in  order 
afterward  to  devote  themselves  as  exclusively  to  their  professional 
studies  ? 

There  are  many  reasons  against  it.  The  graduate  of  a  gymnasium 
has  prepared  himself,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  for  the  final  examina- 


218  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

tion  there.  Having  passed  this  successfully,  he  is  usually  received  at 
the  university,  to  the  same  studies  with  which  he  had  been  occupied 
before.  He  had  spent  years  in  studying  the  classics  at  the  gymnasium, 
and  continues  them  at  the  university ;  he  has  taken  pains  to  make 
himself  acquainted  with  the  facts  of  general  history,  and  is  made  to 
do  the  same  again,  and  to  be  examined  on  them  again ;  he  has  studied 
pure  mathematics,  and  has  to  study  them  again.  Thus,  he  is  com- 
monly occupied  with  reviewing  what  he  knows ;  a  species  of  study  in 
which  he  can  have  no  interest. 

It  is,  of  course,  not  intended  that  general  studies  shall  at  once  be 
entirely  discontinued,  but  that  the  school  method  of  teaching  them 
should  be  replaced  by  an  academical  one.  The  latter  can,  usually, 
only  be  introduced  where  the  student  has  been  gradually  ripened  and 
prepared  for  it.  If,  for  instance,  the  student  of  law  has  previously 
studied  the  history  of  law,  or  the  theological  student,  church  history, 
with  how  different  a  feeling,  understanding,  and  interest  will  they  then 
return  to  the  study  of  general  history,  in  which  all  the  elements  of 
human  development  present  themselves,  and  appear  as  one  great 
whole,  in  the  most  complicated  and  vivid  interaction.  In  like  manner, 
it  might  be  asked,  whether  the  young  theological  student,  after  his 
long  occupation,  at  the  gymnasium,  with  the  classics,  should  not  make 
a  pause  with  them,  while  he  studies  biblical  exegesis,  and  only  after- 
ward apply  himself  again  to  classical  philology,  with  the  view  of 
studying  the  relations  of  the  classical  and  sacred  languages,  and 
worlds. 

It  is  certain  that  several  of  the  studies  of  the  philosophical  faculty 
would  be  pursued  much  more  profitably  in  the  latter  part  of  the  uni- 
versity course  than  in  the  former ;  and  in  a  method  worthy  of  a  uni- 
versity, independent  and  free,  from  pure  love  of  the  scieuce,  instead  of 
merely  for  the  sake  of  answering  questions  on  a  lesson.  But  this  lat- 
ter objectionable  practice  prevails  so  much  the  more,  as  the  students, 
during  the  first,  or  so-called  philosophical  years,  are  obliged  to  pursue 
the  most  inconsistent  studies,  of  which  they  must  give  account  in  the 
examination  for  advanced  standing.*  This  mode  of  study  is  universal 
in  the  lower  grades  of  school  study ;  but,  in  the  higher  ones,  the  re- 
quirements are  too  numerous  even  for  the  best  scholars ;  they  can  not, 
with  interest  and  pleasure,  study,  all  at  once,  logic,  general  history, 
mathematics,  physics,  natural  history,  and  philology.  And,  if  they 
are  still  compelled  to  hear  lectures  on  them  all,  they  feel  a  genuine  re- 


*  That  is,  the  examination  at  the  end  of  the  first  university  year,  for  a  transfer  to  the  profes- 
sional studies. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  219 

pugnance  for  these  so-called  compulsory  lectures ;  even  the  best  of 
them  despair  of  receiving  any  benefit  from  them,  and  most  of  them 
care  only  to  make  a  passable  appearance  at  the  examination,  and  are 
profoundly  glad  when  they  are  past  the  philosophical  year. 

Any  one  who  has  attended  one  of  these  examinations  for  advanced 
standing,  and  who  knows  what  pains  the  examiners  have  to  take  to 
ask  childish,  easy  questions,  and  how  even  these  questions  remain  un- 
answered in  various  ways,  will  never  deceive  himself  into  believing  that 
general  education  is  furthered  by  such  a  mode  of  studying.*  Many  may, 
perhaps,  at  once  blame  the  professors,  as  destitute  both  of  zeal  and  of 
skill  for  the  awakening  of  interest  and  love  for  their  department  of 
study.  Even  if  this  might  be  true  of  some  one  or  other  individual,  it 
can  still  be  demonstrated  from  experience,  that  even  the  most  consci- 
entious and  competent  professors  are  in  the  same  unpleasant  situation. 
And  those  acquainted  with  the  facts  can  also  testify,  that  even  the  best- 
disposed  students  perform  these  prescribed  studies,  mostly  with  indiffer- 
ent spiritlessness,  and  are  as  glad  as  the  rest  when  they  have  finished 
their  first  year  at  the  university. 

How  entirely  different  wrould  it  be,  if  the  student  of  theology,  law, 
or  medicine,  besides  his  professional  studies,  should,  in  every  term,  at- 
tend one  or  more  lectures  from  the  professors  of  the  philosophical 
faculty  ;  with  what  pleasure  would  he  listen,  and  how  much  would  he 
be  stimulated  and  strengthened  in  his  professional  studies !  The  very 
lectures  which  would  produce  this  quickening  effect  are  disgustful  to 
our  present  students.  The  reasons  have  been  explained.  One  of  the 
greatest  jurists  of  Germany  has  a  very  valuable  observation  on  the  sub- 
ject. "Here,"  he  says,  "arises  a  question:  Shall  juridical  studies  be 
commenced  as  soon  as  in  the  first  university  term  ?  By  all  means.  The 
first  ideas  of  the  profession  to  which  the  student  is  to  devote  himself 
can  not  be  too  early  secured.  Historical,  literary,  mathematical,  and 
philosophical  studies  are  very  far  from  being  excluded  by  this  plan. 
But  one  who  insists  on  becoming  familiar  with  all  these  before  hearing 
lectures  on  the  Institutions,  acts  as  judiciously  as  if  he  should  take,  all 
at  once,  his  dessert  for  a  whole  week,  and  should  eat  nothing  else  as 
long  as  that  will  last  him.  Evidently,  he  will  receive  less  pleasure 
than  from  an  alternation  of  food,  besides  that  he  will  often  disorder  his 
stomach."f 


*  There  are  even  men  of  penetrating  intelligence,  who  earnestly  desire  to  advance  the  cause 
of  general  education,  and  to  oppose  a  mere  drill  preparatory  to  professional  study,  who  do  de- 
ceive themselves  in  this  way,  and  consider  that  an  opponent  of  the  "philosophical  year1'  is  a 
traitor  to  the  cause  of  general  education.     Quite  the  reverse! 

tllugo,  in  the"  Civil  Law  Magazine"  (CivilistiscTies  Magazin),  i.  57. 


220  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

It  is  a  most  discouraging  and  even  terrible  thing,  for  a  professor  in 
the  philosophical  faculty  to  have  his  lectures  considered  compulsory 
ones.  The  consequence  is,  that  all  connections  of  an  elevating  charac- 
ter between  him  and  his  hearers  ceases ;  and  there  is  the  greatest 
danger  that,  from  that  time  forward,  all  true  feeling  and  respect  for  his 
department  will  die  out  of  the  hearts  of  the  students,  and  that,  in  the 
same  proportion,  ignorance  will  prevail  there. 

Savigny,*  whose  clear  views,  lofty  character,  and  long  experience 
render  his  opinion,  on  subjects  connected  with  universities,  more  valu- 
able than  that  of  most  persons,  observes  upon  those  lectures  which  the 
students  are  obliged  to  attend.  The  original  reason,  he  says,  was  the 
laudable  one  (in  itself),  of  carrying  the  students,  by  attendance  on  lec- 
tures of  various  kinds,  to  a  thorough,  free,  and  complete  stage  of  de- 
velopment. But,  where  this  plan  is  carried  out  compulsorily,  and  in 
opposition  to  the  peculiar  tendencies  of  the  pupils,  nothing  will  result 
except  an  ignoble  false  pretense,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  securing  a 
certificate  which  will  satisfy  the  formal  requisitions.  So  little  can  the 
communication  of  knowledge  succeed  when  enforced  by  any  external 
compulsion.! 

To  proceed  now  to  institutions  in  which  the  characters  of  the  gym- 
nasium and  the  university  are  confounded  in  a  hybrid  organization — 
to  the  lyceums. 

If  the  first  university  year  is  devoted  to  philosophical  studies,  the  re- 
sult of  the  arrangement  is  to  divide  the  university  into  two  parts  ;  since 
the  philosophical  studies  are  distinct  from  the  professional.  But  still, 
most  of  the  new-comers  attend  introductory  professional  courses,  and 
their  lives  are  those  of  students. 

But  if  the  philosophical  faculty  is  established  in  lyceums  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  universities,  the  separation  becomes  an  entire  one,  and 
the  character  of  a  German  university  is  entirely  lost,  whether  as  to 
studies  or  discipline.  Instead  of  the  universities  we  have  special 
schools. 

Savigny  says,  of  the  German  universities,  "Their  common  character 
consists  in  this :  that  each  of  them  includes  the  whole  body  of  knowl- 
edge, iustead  of  being  limited  to  a  single  department,  as  is  often  the 
case  in  the  special  schools  of  other  countries."     The  superiority  of 'this 

*" System  and  Value  of  the  German  Universities,"  by  Savigny,  in  Ranke's  "Historical  and 
Political  Gazette""  (Uistorisch-politisch  Zeitschrift),  September,  1S32,  p.  5C9,  <fec. 

t  Sufficient  warnings  cannot  be  given  against  university  arrangements  intended  to  control 
the  bad,  but  which  are  actually  a  hindrance,  and  even  injury  to  the  good.  Thus,  for  instance, 
bad  students  are  forced  into  a  hypocritical  appearance  of  industry,  a  dead  Pharisaical  labor,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  honest,  sincere  industry,  and  profitable  studies  of  the  better  ones  are  made 
useless. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  221 

character,  he  adds,  has  been  so  often  and  so  thoroughly  shown,  that 
he  forbears  to  discuss  it. 

Thus,  the  erection  of  lyceums  breaks  up  the  character  of  our  univer- 
sities. One  even  moderately  acquainted  with  the  organization  and 
influence  of  the  philosophical  faculties,  will  have  no  doubt  of  this.  A 
lyceum  will  be  an  independent  philosophical  faculty,  existing  by  itself; 
but  such  a  faculty  can  only  prosper  when  it  is  conjoined  with  the 
other  faculties,  and  gives  them,  and  receives  from  them,  mutual  vigor. 
The  theological,  juridical,  and  medical  faculties,  separate  from  the  phi- 
losophical, wrould  sink  into  mere  preparatory  schools  for  gaining  a  liv- 
ing in  future  ;  while  the  isolated  philosophical  faculty,  wanting  its 
relation  to  the  serious  requirements  of  life,  and  of  the  future  profes- 
sion, is  without  substance  or  aim.  On  the  other  hand,  the  closer  and 
more  complete  the  union  of  the  philosophical  with  the  other  faculties, 
so  much  more  efficient  and  scientifically  thorough  will  the  spirit  of  the 
university  be. 

The  hybrid  character  of  a  lyceum,  which  is  neither  a  gymnasium  nor 
a  university,  must  have  the  worst  effect  on  its  pupils,  and  impress  a 
similar  hybrid  character  on  them.  They  can  not  be  school-boys,  and 
would  willingly  be  students;  but  are,  in  fact,  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other.  It  is  a  question,  also,  how  the  teacher  is  to  manage  them.  It 
is  too  late  for  school  discipline,  and  yet  they  can  not  be  granted  the 
entire  academical  freedom.  But,  though  not  granted,  they  will  take 
it,  and  w7ill  be  the  more  disorderly,  in  all  respects,  because  they  are 
under  no  wholesome  restraint  from  the  older  students. 

In  reference  to  the  foundation  of  lyceums,  there  are  some  considera- 
tions of  importance,  if  they  are  to  be  not  mere  phantasms,  but  are  to 
be  actually  efficient.  Very  important  amounts  of  money  will  be  re- 
quired for  this  purpose.  Let  it  be  considered  how  great  is  the  annual 
amount  required  for  the  professors'  salaries  of  a  philosophical  faculty ; 
the  capital  represented  by  their  physical  and  natural  historical  collec- 
tions, their  botanic  garden,  and,  above  all,  by  their  part  of  the  univer- 
sity library;  which  may  be  estimated  at  two  thirds  of  the  whole 
number  of  books; — add,  also,  the  annual  expense  for  maintaining  and 
increasing  these  collections,  <fcc,  and  the  total  of  the  sum  thus  required 
for  such  a  foundation  will  be  astounding.  And  in  this  we  are  con- 
sidering not  at  all  the  endowments  of  great  universities,  but  at  what  is 
required  for  the  smaller  ones ;  what  is  so  absolutely  indispensable  for 
instruction,  that,  in  their  absence,  the  most  valuable  lectures  will  be 
empty  words,  destitute  of  basis  or  efficiency.  But  if  it  be  designed  to 
diminish  the  expense  of  organizing  a  lyceum,  by,  so  to  speak,  impro- 
vising a  body  of  teachers,  by  intrusting  the  different  departments  to 


222  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

persons  who  may  be  occupying  other  situations  at  the  place  of  the 
new  institution,  this  will  show  that  the  office  of  a  professor  in  the  phi- 
losophical faculty  is  altogether  undervalued  and  under-estimated.  One 
seriously  interested  in  his  vocation  as  teacher,  especially  in  the  present 
busy  and  progressive  age,  will  find  abundant  labor  for  himself;  his 
office  Avill  demand  the  whole  man  ;  and  can  not  possibly  be  filled  as  a 
mere  occupation.  But  one  who  has  the  self-confidence,  beside  his 
other  employment,  as  preacher,  gymnasium  teacher,  or  otherwise,  to 
undertake  that  of  professor  in  a  lyceum,  will  only  show  that  he  was 
not  wholly  devoted  to  his  former  occupation — that  his  whole  heart 
was  not  on  it.  But,  if  this  charge  be  undeserved,  he  will  need  to  be 
much  on  his  guard  lest,  by  over-estimating  his  own  powers  and  under- 
estimating his  new  duties,  he  do  all  his  work  by  halves,  and,  according 
to  the  old  proverb,  "  between  two  stools,  fall  to  the  ground ;"  and  so 
neither  suffice  for  the  old  office  nor  for  the  new  one. 

Thus,  all  considerations  oppose  the  introduction  of  lyceums,  and 
none  favor  it.  They  break  up  existing  organizations  to  the  founda- 
tion. F.  A.  Wolf  says:  "In  my  opinion,  great  and  universal  changes 
are  not  advisable  at  any  university.  The  useful  results  of  the  ancient 
organizations  we  already  know,  and  continually  enjoy.  In  order  to  a 
better  one,  experiments  must  be  made,  to  form  an  opinion ;  and  such 
experiments  might  be  costly  in  many  ways." 

To  this  warning  of  Wolf's,  may  be  added  this,  from  Savigny  :  w  So 
many  causes  have  always  tended  to  the  dismemberment  of  Germany, 
that  it  may  very  well  seem  necessary  to  direct  our  attention  to  what- 
ever good  things  are  common  to  the  whole  nation ;  both  for  the  sake 
of  rejoicing  in  their  possession,  which  secure  the  continuance  of  our 
national  prosperity,  and  to  direct  us  toward  the  means  of  maintaining 
them.  Among  the  most  important  and  valuable  of  those  common 
possessions  are,  at  this  time,  to  be  reckoned  our  universities." 

The  common  character  of  these  common  possessions  of  Germany, 
the  universities,  we  have  delineated,  and  have  shown  that  that  charac- 
ter, according  to  Savigny's  own  views,  would  be  entirely  destroyed  by 
the  introduction  of  lyceums. 

Wherever  this  shall  happen,  the  mutilated  universities  will  no  longer 
be  among  the  good  possessions  common  to  the  German  people,  and  be 
institutions  of  study  for  all  the  German  races.  They  will  excommuni- 
cate themselves;  and,  degraded  into  special  schools,  can  no  longer  be 
reckoned  entitled  to  equal  privileges  with  the  other  German  uni- 
versities. 

With  sacred  earnestness,  and  full  of  the  importance  of  the  subject, 
the  judicious  Savigny  writes:  "The  universities  have  come  down  to 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  223 

us,  a  noble  inheritance  from  former  times;  and  it  is  a  point  of  honor 
with  ns  to  leave  them  in  a  condition  improved,  where  possible,  and 
at  least  not  made  worse,  to  coming  generations.  It  rests  with  us 
whether  they  shall  remain  as  they  are,  or  whether  they  shall  sink  or 
rise.  The  judgment  of  posterity  will  require  an  account  of  them  at  our 
hands:' 


Relations  between  the  Philosophical  Faculty  and  the  Professional 

Studies. 

Measures  were  now  taken  at  Erlangen  against  the  philosophical 
compulsory  lectures.  In  1844,  instead  of  the  one  so-called  philosophi- 
cal (or  Fox)  year,  two  years  were  set  apart,  during  which  the  student, 
beside  the  philosophical  compulsory  lectures,  might  attend  professional 
ones.*  In  1849,  a  further  very  important  step  was  taken,  by  remov- 
ing all  compulsory  attendance,  and  providing,  instead,  that  every  student 
must,  during  his  university  course,  attend  eight  philosophical  courses, 
of  at  least  four  lectures  each ;  these  eight  to  be  selected  at  his  pleasure, 
and  no  examination  to  be  held  on  them. 

It  is  evident  that  this  plan  would  much  satisfy  the  wishes  of  the 
better  students ;  for  they  could  now  attend  with  interest  such  lectures 
as  were  suited  to  their  scientific  tendencies  and  capacities.  But  it  is 
also  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  some  evils  also  resulted  from  it.  It 
can  not  be  denied  that  idle  students  could  misuse  the  freedom  given 
them  to  indulge  in  mere  idleness.  But  no  one  who  remembers  the 
most  lamentable  results  of  the  previous  examinations  of  such  idle  stu- 
dents upon  the  compulsory  lectures  attended  by  them,  will  desire,  for 
the  sake  of  such  results,  to  circumscribe  the  honorable  freedom  of  the 
industrious.  From  my  own  convictions,  I  accordingly  reject  the  com- 
pulsory lectures,  and  from  my  heart  rejoice  in  the  freedom  of  the  better 
sort  of  students  in  making  their  selection.  Still,  I  must  repeat  my 
observation,  that  they  often  hesitate  about  their  choice,  especially  in 
the  beginning  of  their  studies ;  and  that,  on  the  other  hand,  they  fre- 
quently wish,  at  the  end  of  them,  that  they  had  attended  many  lec- 
tures whose  value,  and  had  not  attended  many  others  whose  uselessness, 
they  learned  too  late. 

Let  us  consider,  once  more,  the  lectures  of  the  philosophical  faculty. 
The  beginner,  who  hitherto,  at  the  gymnasium,  has  had  no  choice  as 
to  what  he  shall  study,  and  what  not,  has  now  before  him  the  cata- 
logue of  lectures,  for  a  selection  at  his  pleasure.     Most  of  them  select 

*This  new  arrangement  was  announced  to  the  students,  July  20, 1S44,  in  an  excellent  ad- 
dress, by  my  honored  colleague,  Prof.  Doedorlein. 


224  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

under  the  advice  of  older  students;  and  accordingly  often  fall  into  the 
hands  of  those  who  advise  them,  during  the  first  year,  to  refrain  alto- 
gether from  study,  and  rest  after  the  labor  of  the  gymnasium.  The 
better  minded  have  to  decide  whether  they  will  continue  their  studies 
at  the  gymnasium,  or  will  suffer  these  to  rest,  for  a  time  at  least,  while 
they  pursue  studies  which  were  not  taught  at  the  school.  So  far  as 
my  experience  goes,  most  of  them  select  the  former  course,  as  if  they 
were  afraid  of  a  journey  into  an  unknown  country. 

In  any  case,  most  of  them  are  in  great  need  of  good  advice.  But 
what  instructor  will  show  them  the  way  ?  Will  not  the  philologist  rec- 
ommend philological  lectures  especially,  the  historian  historical  ones, 
&c?  Not  that  this  will  be  from  vulgar  and  egotistical  motives,  but 
only  from  the  natural  and  necessary  preference  of  every  one  for  his 
own  department.  Very  few  professors  have  so  far  mastered  the  differ- 
ent studies  as  to  be  capable  of  lecturing  on  a  comprehensive  system  of 
hodegetics.* 

It  has  been  attempted  to  simplify  and  ease  the  selection,  by  having 
each  of  the  three  faculties,  in  the  plan  of  study  which  they  draw  up 
for  their  students,  recommend  to  them  lectures  upon  such  subjects  in 
the  philosophical  faculty  as  are  most  closely  related  to  their  respective 
professional  studies.  The  faculty  of  law,  for  instance,  would  recom- 
mend historical  lectures ;  of  medicine,  natural  historical ;  of  theology, 
philological. 

However  simple  this  expedient  may  seem,  it  is  still  to  be  feared  that 
these  recommendations  to  the  students  of  each  faculty  will  cause  them 
to  turn  their  backs  upon  all  studies  not  recommended,  as  being  foreign 
to  their  purpose,  which  is  far  from  the  case.  Natural  science,  for  in- 
stance, will  usually  not  be  recommended  to  students  of  theology,  law, 
or  philology.  In  after  life  these  students  will  commonly  have  no  oppor- 
tunity to  become  acquainted  with  these  studies,  nor  could  they  do  so  at 
the  gymnasium.  It  is  only  at  the  university  that  an  opportunity  offers 
to  fill  up  these  omissions  in  their  education,  and  to  acquire  a  knowledge 
of  nature.  Here  are  offered  teachers  and  means  of  instruction.  Ought 
theological  students,  <fcc,  now,  not  to  improve  the  opportunity,  at  least 
to  gain  a  glimpse  into  a  world  which  has  hitherto  been  strange  to 
them,  and  which  will  usually  remain  so,  if  they  do  not  seize  that  occa- 
sion ?  I  have  taken  this  example  because  it  occurs  most  readily  to  me, 
as  professor  in  natural  history.f     The  point  will  be  made  still  clearer 

*  A  very  good  arrangement  to  avoid  this  danger,  prevails,  for  example,  at  Erlangen.  Each 
professor  of  the  philosophical  faculty  draws  up  a  summary  of  the  studies  of  his  department,  and 
a  short  introduction  to  it,  to  be  studied.    Collections  of  these  are  printed  for  the  students. 

t  See  "  History  of  Education"  vol.  iii.  part  1,  p.  16S. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  225 

by  the  following,  which  I  extract  from  the  introduction  of  my  lectures 
on  natural  history. 

In  the  gymnasium,  I  say,  there  is  usually  no  preparation  made  for 
studying  natural  history.  Let  it  now  be  imagined  that  students  should 
come  to  the  university  who  had  not  even  learned  mensa  and  amo. 
As  little  as  these  would  be  capable  of  profiting  by  lectures  on  Tacitus 
and  Roman  literature,  would  those  unacquainted  with  the  first  ele- 
ments of  the  knowledge  of  natural  science  be  prepared  for  the  higher 
courses  on  natural  science. 

Such  should,  as  far  as  possible,  make  up  for  the  omissions  in  their 
studies  at  the  gymnasium,  by  lectures  on  natural  history.  These  will 
afford  them  an  intelligible  glance  into  the  creation ;  a  general  view  of 
natural  science.     They  will  have  penetrated  into  the  vestibule. 

If  it  be  inquired  of  what  use  is  this  study,  not  merely  to  all  students 
whatever,  but  to  those  destined  for  the  profession  to  which  it  is  re- 
lated, the  answer  would  be,  in  brief,  as  follows : 

A  young  student  of  medicine  will  scarcely  question  the  usefulness  of 
the  study  of  nature ;  indeed,  his  medical  studies  are,  themselves,  a  de- 
partment of  the  knowledge  of  nature.  Why,  then,  should  he  not  de- 
sire to  be  acquainted  with  studies  so  nearly  related  to  his  own  as 
zoology,  which  is  to  introduce  him  to  comparative  anatomy,  so  neces- 
sary to  him,  as  botany  and  mineralogy  ?  These  studies  are  important 
to  the  physician,  not  only  in  theory,  but  in  practice;  for  he  must  be 
acquainted  with  the  medicinal  qualities  of  animals,  plants,  and  min- 
erals. And,  moreover,  if  he  has,  by  diligent  study  in  natural  history, 
trained  his  eyes  and  his  understanding  to  a  clear  and  thorough  com- 
prehension of  animals,  plants,  and  minerals,  he  has,  at  the  same  time, 
been  preparing  them  to  understand  anatomical  relations ;  and,  above 
all,  for  acute  observation  of  the  symptoms  of  the  sick. 

To  students  of  law,  the  study  of  nature  seems  much  less  important, 
professionally,  than  to  physicians.  And  still,  there  is  one  point  of  view 
in  which  it  has  especial  value  for  him.  He  can  become  acquainted,  in 
it,  with  the  just  and  loving  laws  of  God,  which  are  a  pattern  for  all 
human  laws.  The  whole  world  is  governed  by  them,  without  change, 
and  always.  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  unchangeable.  Thus  invariable 
does  it  appear  in  astronomy,  which  this  can,  with  mathematical  cer- 
tainty, "determine  the  places  in  the  heavens,  where  sun,  moon,  and 
planets  have  stood,  stand,  and  shall  stand."  It  computes  backward 
with  certainty,  that  the  eclipse  of  the  sun  foretold  by  Thales  took  place 
on  the  17th  of  June  of  the  year  603  before  Christ;  and  Kepler  com- 
puted forward,  in  1627,  that  in  1761  the  transit  of  Venus  over  the  sun 
would  take  place.     Thus  God  rules,  without  any  variation. 

15 


226  ACADEMICAL   SUBJECTS. 

And  the  earthly  creatures,  as  well  as  the  heavenly,  reveal  the  fixed- 
ness of  God's  law.  When  the  botanist*  has  described  the  species  lily, 
by  saving  that  its  flower  has  a  campanulate  corolla  in  six  parts,  six 
anthers,  a  six-celled,  three-sided  capsule,  &c,  the  definition  applies  not 
only  to  a  German  lily,  but  to  one  from  Mount  Carmel.  And,  in  like 
manner,  the  careful,  faithful  representations  of  lilies  in  ancient  pictures 
have  also  a  corolla  with  six  parts,  six  anthers,  &c.  Thus,  the  botanist's 
description  applies  to  lilies  of  all  countries  and  all  times.  The  stead- 
fastness of  the  law  is  clear.  But  an  ignorant  person,  on  hearing  this, 
would  say :  All  lilies,  then,  are  alike ;  and,  according  to  that,  a  great 
monotony  must  prevail  throughout  the  creation.  Such  was  the  idea  of 
the  Elect.ress  who  controverted  Leibnitz's  assertion  that  no  leaf  was  ex- 
actly like  another ;  but  all  her  efforts  to  find  two  leaves  entirely  alike 
were  quite  in  vain.  And  just  as  vain  would  it  be  to  endeavor  to  find 
two  lilies  completely  like  each  other,  even  if  they  grew  on  the  same 
stem.  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  without  change ;  but  this  unchangea- 
bleness  does  not  produce  any  unpleasant  uniformity  among  the  individu- 
als of  which  each  is  a  representation  of  the  divine  idea.  The  law  of 
agreeable  variety  and  free  beaut?  is  still  more  marked  in  the  case  of 

O  it  " 

feathers.  The  animal  creation  exemplifies  it  still  more;  and  most 
clearly  of  all,  the  human  family.  Here  the  law  passes  more  and  more 
out  of  sight,  and  freedom  and  independence  supply  their  place  to  such 
an  extent,  that  the  supreme  power  of  God  is  too  often  doubted  and  for- 
gotten, in  the  life  both  of  individuals  and  of  the  race. 

Thus  the  laws  and  government  of  God  unite  things  apparently  ir- 
reconcilable— fixed  laws  and  freedom.  Thus  they  are  a  model  for 
human  laws ;  which  should  avoid  tyrannical  constraint  and  anarchical 
arbitrariness ;  should  protect  freedom,  yet  secure  and  maintain  stead- 
fast order.  So  lofty  a  model  will  be  a  light  upon  the  path  of  him  who 
devotes  himself,  with  love  and  earnestness,  to  the  study  of  law. 

For  students  who  intend  to  devote  themselves  to  teaching,  the  study 
of  nature  has  great  value,  for  more  than  one  reason. 

It  has  already  been  observed  how  active  a  capacity  and  impulse 
there  is  in  youth  to  examine  and  collect  plants,  minerals,  and  animals. 
In  proportion  as  this  has  been  recognized,  has  the  necessity  been  felt 
of  teaching  natural  history  in  the  schools.  As  actual  departments  of 
training  for  the  sciences,  and  for  life,  the  natural  sciences  require  also 
to  be  made  elements  of  school  education.  We  have  seen  that  this  de- 
mand grew  to  such  a  height,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  that  it  became 
necessary  to  found  real  schools,  although,  at  the  same  time,  gymnasium 

*  See  "Jlistory  of  Education,"  vol.  iii.  part  1,  p.  173. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  227 

scholars  also  received  instruction  in  natural  science.  Every  student 
who  proposes  to  offer  himself  for  a  place  as  teacher,  either  in  the  gym- 
nasium or  a  real  school,  should  bear  this  in  mind. 

Students  in  philology  should  also  remember  that  a  certain  degree  of 
attainment  in  real  knowledge  is  absolutely  necessary  to  any  under- 
standing of  the  ancients,  which  is  to  be  actual,  and  not  merely  verbal. 
Altogether,  apart  from  books  pertaining  directly  to  the  natural  sciences, 
such  as  Aristotle,  Pliny,  &c,  some  such  knowledge  is  needed  to  un- 
derstand the  classics,  which  are  universally  and  daily  read,  as  Cicero, 
Virgil,  Ovid,  <fcc.  Quintilian,  indeed,  says,  that  philology  (grammatice) 
can  not  be  thoroughly  understood  without  a  knowledge  of  music; 
"  nor  without  a  knowledge  of  the  movements  of  the  stars,  can  the  poets 
be  understood  ;  for,  not  to  go  further,  they  often  refer  to  the  rising  and 
setting  of  the  constellations  in  defining  time ;  nor  can  they  be  under- 
stood without  a  knowledge  of  natural  philosophy;  for  in  very  many 
places,  in  almost  all  poems,  are  passages  based  on  a  profound  knowl- 
edge of  natural  problems ;  as,  for  instance,  Empedocles,  among  the 
Greeks ;  and  Varro  and  Lucretius,  among  the  Latins ;  who  put  pre- 
cepts of  wisdom  into  verse."* 

If  it  is  asked  how  far  a  knowledge  of  natural  science  is  to  be  re- 
quired of  theological  students,  the  readiest  answer  is,  that  much  such 
knowledge  is  requisite  for  understanding  the  Bible.f  It  is  well  known 
that  Luther  studied  natural  history  in  connection  with  his  translation 
of  the  Bible. 

In  their  subsequent  vocation,  most  theological  students,  when  pas- 
tors, are  also  school-inspectors.  At  present,  not  only  in  cities,  but  in  villa- 
ges, many  real  studies  are  taught,  especially  relating  to  natural  science. 
The  inspecting  pastor,  therefore,  needs  a  competent  acquaintance  with 
this  branch  of  instruction,  in  order  to  judge  whether  the  teacher  in- 
structs properly,  &c.  This  he  can  only  do  by  having  himself  studied 
natural  sciences ;  for  which,  as  we  have  seen,  he  finds  scarcely  any 
opportunity  except  at  the  university. 

The  study  of  nature,  pursued  in  the  right  spirit  and  in  the  right 
manner,  will,  moreover,  have  the  strongest  and  most  wholesome  influ- 


*  Compare  the  remarks  of  Erasmus  on  real  studies.  ("  History  of  Education,"  vol.  i.  p.  166.) 
In  the  third  edition  of  my  Geography  I  have  cited  many  passages  from  the  classics  -which  re- 
quire information  on  natural  subjects ;  see,  for  instance,  p.  10,  remark  6 ;  p.  20,  remark  120 ; 
p.  G2,  remark  2S;  p.  79,  remark  36;  p.  288,  remark  16,  &c. 

+  Observe  the  number  of  articles  on  natural  science  in  Winer's  "Dictionary  of  Natural 
lIMory ,•"  I  may  refer  also  to  Boehart's  "  Hierozoikon"  to  Eosenmiiller,  &c.  The  application  of 
geological  hypotheses  to  the  interpretation  of  Genesis  is  of  great  importance;  but  here  only  de- 
monstrated facts  should  be  relied  on,  lest  the  pure  truth  be  defiled  and  made  contemptible  by 
fantastic  human  conceptions — a  most  dangerous  misalliance. 


228  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

ence  upon  the  development  of  a  Christian  theological  character.  On 
this  subject,  one  of  the  greatest  English  natural  philosophers  says :  * 
"Another  thing,  then,  that  qualifies  an  experimentarian  for  the  recep- 
tion of  a  revealed  religion,  and  so  of  Christianity,  is,  that  an  accus- 
tomance  of  endeavoring  to  give  clear  explications  of  the  phenomena 
of  nature,  and  discover  the  weakness  of  those  solutions,  that  superficial 
wits  are  wont  to  make  and  acquiesce  in,  does  insensibly  work  in  him  a 
great  and  ingenious  modesty  of  mind.  And  on  the  score  of  this  intel- 
lectual, as  well  as  moral  virtue,  not  only  he  will  be  very  inclinable, 
both  to  desire  and  admit  further  information,  about  things  which  he 
perceives  to  be  dark  or  abstruse ;  but  he  will  be  very  unapt  to  take, 
for  the  adequate  standard  of  truth,  a  thing  so  imperfectly  informed, 
and  narrowly  limited,  as  his  mere  or  abstracted  reason.  .  .  .  And 
though  a  vulgar  philosopher,  .  .  .  may  presume  that  he  under- 
stands every  thing,  and  may  be  easily  tempted  to  think  that  he  must 
not  hope,  nor  desire  to  learn  from  less  able  men  than  his  first  teachers ; 
and  that  that  can  not  be  true,  or  be  done,  which  agrees  not  with  his 
philosophy ;  yet  a  sober  and  experienced  naturalist,  that  knows  what 
difficulties  remain  yet  unsurmounted  in  the  presumedly  clear  concep- 
tion and  explications  even  of  things  corporeal,  will  not,  by  a  lazy  or 
arrogant  presumption,  imagine  that  his  knowledge  about  things  super- 
natural is  already  sufficient And  this  frame  of  mind  is  a 

very  happy  one  for  a  student  in  revealed  theology.  .  .  .  An  as- 
siduous conversation  with  the  exquisitely  framed  and  admirably  man- 
aged works  of  God,  brings  a  skillful  considerer  of  them  to  discover, 
from  time  to  time,  many  things  to  be  feasible,  or  to  be  true,  which, 
while  he  argued  but  upon  grounds  of  incompetently  informed  reason, 
he  judged  false  or  un practicable."! 

To  these  remarks  of  the  excellent  Boyle,  I  will  add  a  single  obser- 
vation. The  capacity  for  objective,  independent  truth,  such  as  does 
not  depend  on  man,  seems  to  have  been  entirely  lost  by  many  persons 
who  have  occupied  themselves  exclusively  with  purely  verbal  studies. 
There  are  innumerable  persons  who  assert  that  there  exist  only  strictly 
individual  beliefs;  that  some  have  one,  others  another;  and  that  this 
variety  is  an  evidence  of  the  freedom  of  the  modern  method  of  inves- 
tigation.    This  unfortunate  belief  has  caused  much  trouble  in  theolo- 


*  Boyle's  Works,  5  vols,  ful.,  Lond.,  1744:  vol.  v.  p.  56. 

t  I  repeat,  that  these  remarks  are  made  of  serious  and  modest  consideration  and  investigation 
of  facts  in  natural  science;  not  of  unreasoning,  fantastic  hypotheses,  with  no  foundation  what- 
ever. These  may  lead  astray  silly  laymen,  and  it  is  only  when  knowledge  is  the  object  that 
men  acquainted  with  the  subject  will  be  followed.  For  this  reason,  visionaries  have  far  more 
pupils— a  larger  public,  than  reasonable  men. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  229 

gy,  has  opened  the  door  to  all  manner  of  arbitrary  views,  and  has 
loosened  all  those  loving  bands  in  which  men  are  joined  by  the  com- 
mon recognition  of  eternal  and  holy  truths.  From  such  a  wicked 
arbitrariness  the  earnest  investigator  of  nature  turns  away ;  his  obser- 
vations do  not  entice  him  into  error,  because  he  only  admits  that  his 
views  are  true  when  they  have  been  proved  by  their  agreement  with 
the  facts  of  nature.  Before  Kepler  discovered  his  first  astronomical 
law,  that  the  paths  of  the  planets  are  ellipses,  he  had  determined  upon 
another  figure.  As  Tycho's  observations  did  not  harmonize  with  this, 
he  rejected  it  and  took  the  ellipse,  which  entirely  harmonized  with 
them.  In  a  similar  irrefragable  manner  do  truths  appear  to  us  in 
crystallography ;  and  to  discover  their  beautiful  laws,  and  candidly  to 
recognize  them  when  discovered,  gives  great  pleasure  and  edification 
to  the  mineralogist. 

It  would  be  exceedingly  beneficial  to  the  young  theologian,  to  be 
constrained  by  a  knowledge  of  nature,  to  acknowledge  some  truth 
entirely  independent  of  himself,  and  thus  to  become  humbled.  Under 
such  discipline  he  would  more  nearly  approach  the  "  faith  which  pre- 
cedes knowledge;"  and  would  learn  to  approach  the  study  of  the 
Bible,  not  in  presumptuous  ignorance,  criticising  and  censuring,  but 
humbly,  with  holy  awe  for  impregnable  truth,  fast  founded,  and  higher 
than  all  reason. 

What  has  been  said  may  justify  the  wish,  that  in  recommending  to 
the  students  lectures  by  the  philosophical  faculty,  the  three  other  fac- 
ulties may  act  with  circumspection,  and  with  reference  to  the  connec- 
tion— sometimes  an  obscure  one — among  different  studies,  and  to  their 
influence  on  the  training  of  the  students. 

IV.  Personal  Relations  of  the  Professors  to  Students. 

From  the  foregoing  it  follows,  that  at  present  the  students  are  re- 
garded not  as  entirely  free  and  independent  men,  but  as  youths,  grown 
beyond  school-discipline,  it  is  true,  but  yet  in  process  of  development 
and  progress  toward  manly  self-dependence.  The  necessity  will  be 
recognized,  of  not  leaving  them  to  themselves  during  this  dangerous 
process  of  emancipation ;  but  of  guiding  it  by  laws  and  personal 
influence. 

In  this  proceeding,  however,  paths  lead  off  on  both  sides,  by  a  ten- 
dency to  do  too  much,  and  too  little.  Some  govern  too  much  by 
compulsory  lectures,  incessant  examinations,  and  oversight  of  expen- 
ses ;  while  others  think  every  new  student  a  quite  free  man,  capable  of 
advising  for  himself,  and  needing  scarcely  the  most  trifling  guidance 
during  his  life  as  a  student. 


230  ACADEMICAL   SUBJECTS. 

It  is  our  wish,  in  the  academical  legislation,  to  regulate  the  life  and 
studies  of  the  students  as  judiciously  as  possible,  without  injuring  their 
freedom;  the  best  legislation  must,  however,  interfere  with  a  certain 
neutrality — with  the  cold  heartlessness  of  the  abstract.  Misunder- 
standings can  only  be  healed  by  paternal  faithfulness  on  the  part  of 
the  teachers  toward  the  students.  The  latter  are  the  congregations, 
of  whom  the  former  have  the  cure  of  souls,  and  for  whom  they  must 
in  future  render  an  account. 

Such  is  the  sentiment  expressed  in  the  statutes  of  the  university  of 
Halle.*  They  also  require  of  the  professors  unity  of  belief.  But  it  is 
not  enough,  they  add,  for  them  to  be  pure  in  their  teachings ;  they 
must,  by  an  unblamable  life,  and  serious  and  upright  character,  set  a 
good  example  to  the  students,  and  not  be  a  scandal  to  them ;  and 
must,  by  word  and  deed,  promote  piety  and  morality  among  them. 

The  statutes  of  the  theological  faculty  of  Halle  go  more  into  details 
under  this  general  statement.  The  professors  of  this  faculty,  they 
enact,  must  maintain  unanimity  among  themselves ;  must,  with  one 
accord,  aid  their  students  as  if  their  own  sons,  with  paternal  counsel 
and  assistance;  and  to  this  end  shall  consult  together  at  the  beginning 
of  every  half-year  upon  what  lectures  shall  be  delivered,  in  order  to 
satisfy  all  the  requirements  of  the  students.  Therefore  it  is  necessary, 
they  proceed,  that  the  professors  shall  gain  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  students.  For  this  purpose  they  must,  "  in  every  week,  upon  a 
fixed  day,  devote  an  hour  to  the  useful  employment  of  carefully  exam- 
ining the  progress  of  the  students  in  knowledge  and  in  life ;  the  plan 
being  so  adjusted  that  each  student  shall  come  before  them  once  in 
each  quarter  of  a  year.  If  the  number  of  students  should  increase  so 
that  one  hour  is  not  sufficient,  then  more  hours  must  be  set  apart  for 
so  indispensable  a  plan." 

New-comers  are  to  be  questioned  upon  what  they  have  studied  at 
school  or  at  other  universities  ;  and  their  mental  capacity,  their  pur- 
poses, and  their  situation  as  to  means,  in  order  to  the  formation  of  an 
opinion  as  to  what  is  to  be  particularly  recommended  to  each  one. 
Above  all,  love  of  God,  and  humility,  are  to  be  prescribed  to  them.f 

In  another  place  they  say,  that  the  students  shall  often  be  remind- 
ed by  the  professors,  that  in  order  to  practical  theology,  elegant  and 


*  The  statutes  are  meant  which  were  enacted  in  1694,  at  the  establishment  of  the  university. 
(Koch,  i.  p.  460.) 

t  Koch,  i.  p.  4S3,  «fcc.  They  recommended  to  the  professors  of  theology  to  lay  to  heart  an 
expression  of  St.  Augustine,  and  to  enforce  it  upon  their  students,  viz. :  "That  they  shall  see, 
in  proportion  as  they  die  to  the  present  age ;  and  that  by  as  much  as  they  live  for  it,  they  shall 
not  see." 


ACADEMICAL   SUBJECTS.  231 

honorable  manners  and  abstinence  from  worldly  life  will  by  no  means 
suffice  ;  but  that  it  requires  self-denial,  which  is  the  fruit  of  true  con- 
version.* 

The  first  impulse  toward  the  peculiar  character  of  the  academical 
organization  at  Halle  was  given  by  Spener.  As  early  as  in  1G90,  be- 
fore the  founding  of  the  university  of  Halle,  he  had  advanced  a  pro- 
posal, that  "  at  every  university  there  should  be  appointed,  at  the 
public  expense,  a  learned,  wise,  and  pious  theologian,  who  should  not 
only  examine  the  knowledge  and  capabilities  of  new-comers,  but 
should  especially  give  them  correct  ideas  about  theological  knowledge, 
that  they  may  learn  how  themselves  to  attain  it,  and  how  to  study  it 
in  a  proper  order. "f 

It  is  evident  that  this  reference  is  not  to  a  merely  scientific  system 
of  hodegetics.  Spener's  plan  was  to  have  only  one  man ;  for  in  that 
controversial  period  he  might  well  despair  of  finding  an  entirely  unan- 
imous theological  faculty  to  fulfill  his  wishes.  How  gratified,  there- 
fore, must  he  have  been,  when  the  theologians  of  the  new  university 
of  Halle,  such  as  Francke,  Breithaupt,  and  Anton,  united  themselves 
with  one  mind  to  carry  them  into  execution.  They  complied  con- 
scientiously with  the  statutes  of  their  faculty,  and  even  did  more  than 
the  statutes  required.  They  devoted  some  hours  weekly  to  a  meeting 
of  the  faculty  in  the  house  of  their  dean,  examined  new-comers,  and 
caused  each  of  them  to  give  in  a  written  account  of  his  previous 
studies;  and  then  they  advised  them  in  what  direction  to  prosecute 
them,  and  what  lectures  to  hear.  All  the  theological  students  were 
obliged,  every  term,  to  advise  with  the  professors,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
faculty,  on  the  lectures  they  had  heard  and  were  to  hear.  If  it  was 
found  that  a  student  was  dissipated  or  idle,  he  was  brought  before  the 
faculty  and  paternally  admonished ;  and  if  this  did  not  suffice,  the 
case  was  reported  to  his  friends. 

It  was  also  required,  that  the  students  should  be  in  confidential 
communication,  not  only  with  the  body  of  the  faculty,  but  also  with 
individual  professors,  on  all  matters  relative  to  their  lives  and  studies. 

By  these  means  the  professors  became  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  students;  and  if  the  faculty  were  applied  to  for  testimonials  rela- 
tive to  a  stipend,  they  were,  it  is  said,  "able  to  use,  in  most  of  them, 
very  definite  expressions." 

Thus  do  the  statutes  and  other  sources  describe  the  religious  care  of 
the  theological  faculty  of  Halle,  in  the  time  of  A.  H.  Francke. 

Of  course,  such  care  in  religious  matters  must  have  been  intended 

*  Koch,  i.  p.  487.  t  "Francke' 8  Institutions;'  ii.  p.  63. 


232  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

to  secure  not  only  the  fullest  acquaintance  with  the  students,  but  also 
a  successful  religious  teaching  and  training  of  them.  And  now  I  can 
hear  more  than  one  reader  ask,  with  meaning,  whether  I  would  see 
this  plan  of  Francke  introduced  among  us  ?  The  question  is  asked,  in 
the  conviction  that  its  introduction  would  be,  at  least  in  our  own  times, 
impossible.  To  this  opinion  I  must  assent;  and  on  the  point,  I  cite 
Francke  himself,  who  complains,  as  early  as  in  1709,  fifteen  years  after 
the  university  of  Halle  was  founded,  that  most  of  the  students  had 
lost  very  much  of  their  zeal  for  good.  He  describes  the  coarse  lives  of 
the  students,  and  observes,  that  the  well-meaning  care  of  the  theologi- 
cal professors  for  the  students  was  so  little  appreciated,  that  they  de- 
cidedly objected  to  it,  as  an  infringement  upon  their  freedom  as  stu- 
dents; and  that  the  good  advice  given  to  them  produced  no  results. 
And  he  adds,  "  I  can  not  think  of  this  without  great  sorrow,  and  can 
not  sufficiently  wonder  how  it  is  possible  that  so  little  result  has  come 
from  all  our  lectures  and  advice."* 

With  the  best  and  purest  intentions,  a  mistake  had  evidently  been 
made,  and  a  reaction  was  the  consequence.f  Instead  of  the  prevailing 
wild  student-life,  Francke  and  his  theological  colleagues  would  have 
introduced,  at  one  stroke,  a  still,  pious,  and  almost  conventual  discipline. 
Devotional  exercises  were  heaped  upon  devotional  exercises.  Pious 
emotions  and  excitements  were  encouraged  in  every  way.  Every  occa- 
sion was  seized  for  praying,  preaching,  exhorting,  and  singing.  It  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  student-life,  based  deeply  on  the  cus- 
tom of  centuries  and  its  accompanying  coarse  vices,  diametrically 
opposed  as  it  was  .to  such  a  scheme  as  this,  should  have  made  a  pow- 
erful opposition  to  Francke's  efforts  ;  so  that  he  prevailed  only  with  a 
quiet  and  meditative  class  of  students.  And  it  must  be  confessed,  that 
he  repelled  not  only  the  dissipated  and  wild  ones,  but  also  the  pure, 
able,  and  talented. 

I  may  thus  be  thought  to  retract  the  praise  which  I  have  bestowed 
upon  the  honest  efforts  of  Francke  and  his  friends,  and  their  services 
to  the  students.  By  no  means.  The  conscientious  manner  in  which 
they  performed  their  official  duties,  their  true  and  paternal  love  for  the 
students,  render  them  rather  models  for  all  academical  teachers ;  while 
their  errors  may,  on  the  other  hand,  admonish  us  to  proceed  with  cir- 
cumspection, modest  wisdom,  and  a  Pauline  accommodation ;  and  to 
permit  youth  to  be  youth. 

*  Parcenetical  Lectures,  iv.  p.  111. 

t  "History  of  Education,'''  vol.  ii.  p.  147.  I  have  here  referred  to  Luther's  sound  views  on 
education,  and  have  shown  that  they  were  decidedly  preferable  to  Francke's,  in  which  there 
already  prevailed  the  insipid  and  unmanly  creed  of  that  pietism  which  afterward  displayed 
itself  in  so  many  caricatured  phases. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  233 

Let  us  return  to  our  subject,  which  may  be  put  in  the  form  of  the 
following  question :  Is  legislation  and  strict  adherence  to  the  laws,  all 
that  the  university  requires  ?  I  reply,  by  no  means.  At  an  early 
period,  the  effort  was  made  to  control  the  students  by  personal  influ- 
ence. But  woe  to  the  universities  if,  as  was  the  case  with  the  ancient 
bursaries,  goats  are  made  gardeners ;  where  hirelings  are  set  over  the 
students,  who  regard  not  their  good,  but  their  own  profit.  It  would 
be  better  for  the  students  to  be  left  entirely  to  themselves  than  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  such  men. 

At  Rinteln,  Marburg,  and  Helmstadt,  new  students  were  required  to 
put  themselves  under  the  charge  of  some  one  instructor.  But  this 
seems  to  have  occasioned  great  abuses,  similar  to  the  previous  ones 
in  the  bursaries.  A  vigorous  production*  of  the  lYth  century,  appar- 
ently emanating  from  Helmstadt,  gives  strange  accounts  of  the  privi- 
leges of  the  so-called  "professor-students,"  that  is,  students  who  boarded 
at  the  tables  of  the  professors;  and  who,  as  the  author  says,  "had 
therefore  a  precedence  in  all  things,  above  the  convictorists"  (those 
who  ate  in  companies  together)  "  and  citizen-students."  Among  these 
privileges  are  mentioned,  that  they  have  a  higher  place  at  church  and 
at  meetings,  even  at  the  Communion  ;  that  they  are  to  take  fencing- 
lessons  only  of  the  fencing-master;  that  their  disputations  are  printed 
in  folio,  those  of  others  in  quarto;  that  they  may  wear  their  swords 
when  visiting  the  magnificus;f  not  to  mention  some  less  elegant  ones. 
Though  this  author  may  somewhat  exaggerate,  still  his  production  in- 
dicates that  the  sacred  vocation  and  authority  of  the  teacher  were 
most  vilely  abused. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  Meiners  made  a  propo- 
sition as  laughable  as  it  was  exceptionable.  This  was,  to  have  board- 
ing establishments  instituted  at  the  universities,  at  which  "board, 
lodging,  and  attendance  should  be  so  excellent,  that  the  young  people 
would  desire  places  at  them  for  these  reasons  only.  Persons  at  these 
should  have  a  certain  precedence,  and  should  assert  it.  It  would  be  a 
great  recommendation  if  either  French  or  English  should  be  constant- 
ly spoken  at  these  boarding-houses.  This  would  free  them  from  all 
invidious  appearances.  Parents  would  tell  their  children,  and  the 
boarders  their  acquaintances,  that  that  boarding-house  had  been  select- 
ed only  on  account  of  the  language."]; 


*  "  Curious  Inaugural  Disputation  on  the  Law,  Privileges,  and  Prerogatives  of  the 

Athenian  Professor-students,  over  the  Citizen-students  and  Communists By 

ScMingschlangschlorum.'"  Athens  here,  as  in  Meyfart,  must  have  meant  an  extinct  German 
university;  while  Saalathen,  Elbathen,  &c.,  are  designations  for  Jena,  Halle,  and  Wittenberg. 

t  Eector.        %  Meiners'  "  Constitution,  <&c,  of  the  German  Universities:''    Gottingen,  1802. 


234  ACADEMICAL   SUBJECTS. 

Mcincrs  printed  this  plan  in  1802,  while  prorector  at  Gottingen.  It 
agrees  well  with  what  he  sa}Ts  of  "a  young  man's  success."  This,  ac- 
cording to  him,  "  depends  not  merely  on  his  capacity,  knowledge,  and 
moral  excellence,  but  always  in  part,  and  sometimes  entirely  or 
chiefly,  upon  his  deportment,  and  how  he  shows  his  bringing  up."* 

It  is  most  injurious  to  students,  whose  manners  are  good,  to  be 
especially  introduced  into  the  social  circle  of  the  professors.  Such 
students  very  often  are  entirely  superficial,  unstable,  and  afraid  of 
labor;  and  rely  for  success  upon  some  accomplishments  in  music,  and 
dancing,  or  by  a  gift  for  uselessly  passing  the  time  away.  Their  in- 
structors should  rather  remind  such  of  the  serious  duties  of  their 
present  and  future  vocations.  To  prefer  such,  on  account  of  mere 
external  show,  to  simple,  straightforward,  and  able  students,  is  most 
indefensible,  not  only  with  reference  to  those  who  are  thus  undervalued, 
but  still  more  on  account  of  those  thus  preferred,  who  can  not  but  see, 
in  such  treatment,  an  approbation  of  their  idle  employments,  which 
will,  at  last,  leave  them  in  lamentable  ignorance  and  insignificance. 

At  a  later  period,  Bavarian  ministerial  ordinances  repeatedly  rec- 
ommended to  the  professors,  especially  deans  of  faculty,  as  much  as 
possible,  to  watch  over  and  direct  the  lives  and  studies  of  the  students. 
The  same  requirement  was  made  by  the  Prussian  ministry,  and  espe- 
cially in  a  rescript  of  14th  September,  1824.  This  observes  that  the 
management  of  the  studies  and  of  the  students  is,  no  doubt,  intrusted 
to  the  academical  authorities,  but  that  this  is  far  from  being  sufficient. 
The  students  often  attend  few  lectures,  or  none  at  all ;  select  them  in- 
appropriately, in  an  improper  order,  or  attend  negligently.  The  min- 
istry believes  that  these  evils  can  be  cured,  "  by  having  at  each  uni- 
versity a  number  of  professors  to  take  more  particular  charge  of  the 
studies  of  individual  students."  And  it  is  added,  "  this  may  be  done, 
either  by  appointing  for  this  purpose  such  professors  as  were  deans  of 
faculty  when  the  present  students  commenced  their  course,  so  that  at 
the  end  of  their  deanship  they  may  continue  in  this  special  oversight, 
or  by  appointing,  without  reference  to  the  deanship,  or  to  any  other 
academical  or  faculty  office,  professors  specially  fitted  for  the  place,  to 
be  properly  selected.  In  either  case  they  will  have  the  duty  of  guid- 
ing and  overseeing  every  way  the  students  put  under  their  special 
charge,  and  in  particular,  of  watching  that  each  of  them  not  only 
attends  lectures,  but  makes  a  suitable  selection  of  them,  and  attends 
them  in  a  proper  order  and  regularly.  It  would  be  necessary,  to  this 
end,  that  the  professors  should  fully  know  what  lectures  have  been 

*  Meincrs'  "  Constitution,'1''  &c,  p.  7. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  235 

already  attended  by  the  students  put  under  their  care  ;  and  should 
keep  themselves  assured  that  they  are  orderly  and  regular  in  attend- 
ance, that  if  they  should  fail  in  these  particulars,  they  may,  with 
paternal  care,  set  them  right.  And  it  will  likewise  be  necessary  that 
no  academical  stipends  shall  be  granted  without  their  report ;  and 
that  those  which  are  given  should  be  given  only  on  the  production  of 
a  half-yearly  attestation  to  the  recipients'  studies."  * 

The  good  intentions  of  the  ministry  are  too  apparent  in  this  paper 
to  be  mistaken.  But  no  one,  even  moderately  familiar  with  the  usual 
circumstances  and  condition  of  a  university,  will  be  surprised  that — 
by  all  indications  at  least — the  plan  of  the  ministry  never  went  into 
execution.  This  may  be  concluded  from  a  second  rescript  of  9th 
January,  1830,  in  which  the  professors  of  the  university  at  Konigs- 
berg  are  required  to  assist  the  students  in  their  studies  with  their  ad- 
vice. This  says,  M  It  can  not  be  often  enough  repeated  to  the  pro- 
fessors, that  they  are  bound  to  exercise  unremitting  watchfulness  over 
the  industry,  the  learned  studies,  and  the  morals  of  the  students ;  and 
that  one  advice,  one  admonition,  given  at  the  right  time,  and  in  the 
right  manner,  by  a  professor  to  a  student,  is  more  useful  than  any 
number  of  police  ordinances."! 

If  this  committee  of  professors,  or  ephorate  over  the  students,  had 
existed,  this  latter  requirement  would  either  not  have  been  mentioned 
at  all,  or  would  have  been,  at  least,  expressed  in  another  way. 

Such  an  ephorate  over  the  theological  students  at  Erlangen  was 
established  in  1833.  At  its  head  was  placed  an  excellent  man,  learned, 
upright,  and  intelligent,  the  late  High  Consistory  Councilor  Hofling, 
and  under  him  four  tutors  (repetenten),  one  for  the  students  of  each  of 
the  four  years  of  the  course.  These  latter  were  mostly  eminent  men 
also ;  some  of  them  of  celebrity  in  the  learned  world.  It  may  be 
imagined  that  though  this  arrangement  may  have  been  considered  ex- 
ceedingly improper  by  the  idle  students,  yet  that  the  industrious  ones 
would  have  fallen  in  with  it.  This  was  far  from  being  the  case,  these 
latter  also  felt  themselves  under  constraint  by  it,  and  the  idle  contrived 
so  to  evade  the  means  used  for  enforcing  industry,  as  not  to  be  reached 
at  all.  This  is  not  the  place  to  detail  all  the  misadventures  of  this 
ephorate ;  suffice  it  to  say,  that  after  continuing  fifteen  years,  it  was 
discontinued.  J 

Thus  we  see  that  the  most  various  efforts  to  gain  a  personal  influ- 

*  Koch,  ii.  p.  190.  t  lb.,  ii.  p.  205. 

X  A  fuller  account  of  this  ephorate  will  be  found  in  the  excellent  biography  of  Hofling,  by  my 
respected  friend  and  colleague,  Prof.  Nagelsbach,  in  vol.  xxvi.  of  the  "  Gazette  of  Protestant- 
ism,'1'' Appendix  to  the  July  No.,  p.  9. 


236  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

ence  over  the  lives  and  studies  of  the  students,  have  sometimes  been 
thwarted  altogether,  and  sometimes  what  was  gained  was  imperfect  in 
many  ways,  and  of  brief  duration. 

We  ought  not,  moreover,  to  conceal  the  fact,  that  the  students  have 
considered  all  legislation  for  the  oversight  and  regulation  of  their 
studies  by  the  authorities  as  an  attack  upon  their  freedom  as  students, 
and  have  opposed  it  accordingly,  however  well  meant. 

They  will,  on  the  other  hand,  place  confidence  in  professors  who 
advise  them  truly,  faithfully,  and  honestly,  but  not  officially ;  I  may 
say,  without  their  official  faces  on.  But,  above  all,  the  professor  must 
have  at  heart  the  good  of  the  students ;  *  and  must  watch  and  pray 
that  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  the  students  does  not  lead  him 
into  vanity,  and  an  ambition  to  have  many  followers.  If  this  should 
happen,  he  must  find  his  reward  in  it  only ;  and  his  influence  upon 
the  students  can  not  be  good;  and  for  the  reason  that  such  a  vain 
teacher  will  not  remain  open  and  true,  but  will  flatter  the  students,  in 
order  to  conciliate  them,  and  fasten  them  to  him. 

But  in  this  way  a  vain  teacher  makes  vain  scholars ;  who  would 
consider  any  serious  warning  or  admonition  from  any  one  else,  no  mat- 
ter how  true,  well-meant,  and  sincere,  a  deep  insult. 

V.  Small  and  Large  Univeusities.     Scientific  Academies. 

Our  discussions  of  the  various  university  laws,  and  other  experi- 
ments and  efforts  to  control  aud  direct  the  lives  and  studies  of  students, 
will  occasion  many  readers  to  imagine  that  one  or  another  remark  is 
applicable  to  small  universities,  but  not  to  large  ones ;  at  least,  what 
is  said  of  the  personal  influence  of  the  professors  over  the  students. 
Just  as  there  can  be  no  watchfulness  over  souls,  if  the  preacher's  con- 
gregation is  immoderately  large,  so  a  professor  at  Munich  or  Berlin 
can  not  attempt  any  personal  influence  upon  so  large  a  number  of 
students ;  or  can  at  most  labor  with  those  few  who  are  especially  recom- 
mended to  him,  or  otherwise  come  into  close  contact  with  him. 

Many  persons,  however,  make  no  account  whatever  of  any  such  in- 
fluence. They  consider  the  universities  as  institutions  for  the  promo- 
tion of  science,  even  to  its  furthest  special  departments ;  and  the  lec- 
tures are  only  of  secondary  importance  to  them.  In  this  view,  it  is 
certainly  easy  to  show  that  the  purposes  of  a  university  will  be  better 
served  at  a  large  one  than  at  a  small  one.  They  refer  especially  to  the 
various  important  appurtenances  of  the  larger  universities ;  their  rich 

*  Steffens  was  the  model  of  a  truly  paternal  friend  of  the  students ;  exhibiting  to  them  an 
indescribably  pure  goodness  of  heart  and  self  sacrifice,  as  I  can  testify  thankfully,  from  my  own 
experience. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  237 

mineralogical  and  zoological  collections,  botanic  gardens,  physical  ap- 
paratus, chemical  laboratories,  large  hospitals,  anatomical  museums,  <fec 
The  smaller  universities  are  contemned,  because,  as  the  proverb  says, 
they  cut  their  coat  according  to  their  cloth,  and,  having  much  smaller 
incomes,  attempt  only  moderate  things.  And  it  is  said  that,  by  reason 
of  these  small  revenues,  they  cannot  procure  the  services  of  men  of  the 
highest  grade ;  or,  if  they  do  accept  situations,  they  commonly  remain 
but  a  short  time,  the  more  eminent  of  them  being  invited  to  larger 
universities. 

Before  proceeding  to  a  more  careful  comparison  of  the  respective 
value  of  large  and  small  universities,  we  must«oppose  the  notions  of 
the  object  of  a  university  which  are  advanced  by  these  advocates  of 
large  universities.  Universities  are  by  no  means  founded  exclusively 
for  the  promotion  of  the  sciences  as  such.  That  is  the  object  of  sci- 
entific academies;  while  universities  are  institutions  for  instruction. 
While  the  former  consider  the  present  aids  to  science  only  as  means 
to  be  used  for  further  attainments,  as  a  terminus  a  quo,  towards  great- 
er attainments,  and  are  solely  devoted  to  the  extension  further  and 
further  of  the  limits  of  the  domain  of  science,  and  to  perfect  more  and 
more  fully,  and  establish  more  deeply  and  firmly,  every  particular  de- 
partment, the  latter,  the  universities,  have  not  all  this  for  their  imme- 
diate and  direct  object ;  they  are,  I  repeat,'  institutions  for  instruction. 
The  immediate  business  of  the  teacher  is,  to  consider  what  has  been 
already  made  clear  and  certain  in  his  department;  and  to  communi- 
cate this  clearly  and  certainly  to  his  pupils.  He  must  not  give  them 
must,  in  which  many  impurities  are  still  mingled,  but  well-worked  and 
pure  wine. 

Science  in  itself  is  the  object  of  the  academician ;  the  teaching  of 
science,  of  the  university  teacher.  This  teaching  is  his  official  busi- 
ness ;  he  ought  not  to  lose  sight  of  it.  Complaints  are  justly  made  of 
such  gymnasium  teachers  as  lose  sight  of  such  teaching  as  is  adapted 
to  their  pupils,  and  who  deliver  them  lectures  instead,  idly  anticipating 
the  university.  But  university  instructors  are  equally  blameworthy, 
who  lose  sight  of  their  proper  occupation,  and  idly  seek  to  make  them- 
selves academicians,  by  actual  and  purely  scientific  labors ;  in  their 
chase  after  celebrity  losing  sight  of  their  office  as  teachers. 

One  who  is  true  to  this  object,  however,  will  feel  bound  always  to 
attain  a  more  profound  knowledge  of  his  department,  and  to  compre- 
hend it  more  clearly,  in  order  to  be  able  to  teach  it  more  thoroughly 
and  clearly.  Upon  such  a  conscientious  endeavor  a  blessing  will  rest; 
and  it  will  usually  more  promote  scientific  knowledge,  than  such  in- 
fatuation after  science  and  unloving  neglect  of  pupils. 


238  ACADEMICAL   SUBJECTS. 

The  academician  requires  a  most  extensive  apparatus  of  boots,  nat- 
ural objects,  instruments,  &c. ;  the  newest  and  most  abstruse.  Desiring 
to  advance  further  and  further  in  his  science,  he  must  stand  at  the 
summit  of  it,  and  overlook  his  fellow-laborers  in  the  earth  below,  in 
order  rightly  to  perform  his  task  as  a  member  of  the  great  republic  of 
learning. 

The  university  instructor,  on  the  contrary,  needs  only  a  complete 
apparatus  for  teaching,  of  books,  natural  objects,  instruments,  <fec. ;  an 
apparatus  which,  as  to  its  purpose,  differs  much  from  that  of  the  acade- 
mician, and  may  usually  be  more  modest  and  cheaper.  The  exces- 
sive riches  of  the  apparatus  at  a  great  university  is  even  a  hindrance 
to  the  purpose  of  the  instruction.  The  scholars  are  not  capable  of 
managing  so  much  material.  A  light  can  be  extinguished  by  too 
much  oil,  as  well  as  by  too  little. 

The  affectionate  care  which  the  governments  have  of  late  bestowed 
upon  the  smaller  universities  in  reference  to  their  scientific  depart- 
ments, permits  us  to  hope  that  these  departments  will  gradually  be- 
come capable  of  answering  their  purposes.  Those  at  the  head  of  them 
must,  on  their  parts,  apply  judiciously  the  means  granted  them  ;  must 
not  waste  them  uselessly,  nor  seek  impossibilities ;  nor  make  requisi- 
tions for  their  own  department  exclusively  and  without  reference  to 
the  rest,  and  without  looking  to  their  prosperity  also ;  which  would 
indicate  both  want  of  fairness  and  of  general  scientific  develop- 
ment. 

Examples  will  make  this  clearer.  Suppose  I,  as  professor  of  miner- 
alogy at  Erlangen,  had  been  unable  to  take  pleasure  in  the  collection 
of  minerals  there,  having  got  it  into  my  head  that  they  were  of  very 
little  value,  because,  for  instance,  they  were  so  far  behind  the  rich  col- 
lection at  Berlin  ;  and  that  I  was  always  thinking  about  the  magnificent 
specimens  of  gold  there,  the  hundred  and  five  crystallized  diamonds, 
and  so  many  other  treasures.  This  scientific  envy  would  only  injure 
my  official  usefulness.  I  ought  rather  to  reflect  thus :  I  receive  so 
much  a  year  for  purchases  for  the  collection  of  minerals ;  how  can  I 
use  it  to  the  best  advantage  ?  If  I  seek  mostly  for  new  and  ra*re  ob- 
jects, and  am  ashamed  that  the  collection  should  lack  them,  I  can 
easily  waste  the  whole  amount  upon  a  few  newly  discovered  expensive 
specimens,  which  usually  will  have,  for  my  pupils,  a  value  relatively 
exceedingly  small.  As  a  teacher  of  mineralogy,  I  must  buy  what  is 
of  value  to  them.  And,  fortunately,  it  is  precisely  those  which  are 
cheapest ;  species  which  occur  most  frequently,  being  of  the  greatest 
significance  in  nature  and  in  life.  I  should  endeavor  to  make  the 
collection  of  these  as  complete  and  good  as  possible ;  so  that  the  pupil 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  239 

may  have  before  his  eyes  the  laws  of  the  progression  of  the  species, 
especially  in  a  well-arranged  series  of  distinct  crystals. 

In  like  manner,  the  zoologist  of  a  small  university  should  not 
aim  at  a  menagerie  like  that  at  London ;  the  botanist  should  not  de- 
mand immense,  magnificent  hot-houses,  and  a  special  palace  for  the 
Victoria  Regina  ;  but  should  endeavor,  above  all,  to  complete  the 
flora  of  his  locality,  as  being  both  cheapest  and  the  most  appropriate 
for  his  instruction.  Nor  should  the  instructor  in  medicine  be  dis- 
gusted because  he  does  not  find  so  many  singular  cases  as  occur  in 
the  great  cities  and  their  institutions.  He  should,  first  of  all,  learn  to 
manage  diseases  that  are  not  rare,  but  most  frequent — dropsy,  scarlet- 
fever,  &c. 

But  I  may  be  thought,  in  defending  the  small  universities,  to  be 
making  a  virtue  of  necessity.     By  no  means. 

There  is  no  more  difference  between  the  large  and  small  universities, 
either,  as  to  those  studies  which  are  taught  by  words  only. 

There  is  a  difficulty  at  the  large  ones,  for  which,  at  present,  we  see 
no  remedy,  and  which  arises  from  the  large  number  of  students.  I 
refer  to  what  has  already  been  said  of  the  necessity  for  dialogic  instruc- 
tion in  all  studies  where  actual  seeing  is  necessary  to  accomplishment ; 
and  in  some  of  which  the  hands  must  also  be  instructed,  as  in  practi- 
cal chemistry  and  surgery.  This  is  out  of  the  question  where  the 
number  of  pupils  is  too  large ;  and  most  of  all,  when  they  are  begin- 
ners, who  usually  are  unable  to  help  themselves,  and  therefore  need 
from  the  teachers  assistance,  and  continual  watchfulness  over  the 
course  of  their  acquirements. 

This  is  the  case,  for  instance,  with  students  of  medicine.  It  is  ex- 
tremely necessary  that,  at  the  clinical  lectures,  they  should  themselves 
examine  and  treat  the  sick ;  but  this  is  impossible  when  the  instructor 
has  a  large  number  of  pupils  and  spectators.  A  pupil  of  a  celebrated 
medical  professor  related  that  he  was  accustomed,  when  the  professor, 
with  his  crowd  of  students,  came  into  the  hospital,  to  fix  himself,  in 
advance,  near  some  one  bed,  and  to  be  content — and  to  be  obliged  to 
be — with  hearing  his  teacher's  observations  on  that  one  patient. 
Only  those  close  about  the  professor  were  in  any  better  case ;  and 
most  of  them  who  followed  his  long  circuit  at  a  distance,  received 
little  or  nothing.  This  was  at  a  large  university.  How  often,  on  the 
other  hand,  have  I  heard  the  praises  of  the  friendly  and  conscientious 
care  with  which,  at  the  clinical  lectures  of  the  smaller  universities,  the 
students  were  personally  instructed,  and  thus  prepared  for  their  future 
employment ! 

Similar  praise  is  bestowed  upon  various  departments  of  the  smaller 


240  ACADEMICAL   SUBJECTS. 

universities.     Not  being  over-filled,  personal  instruction  of  individuals 
is  practicable,  wherever  they  need  it. 

Lastly,  I  should  remark,  that  in  great  cities  the  students  usually  live 
in  a  scattered  manner,  and  are  lost  in  the  crowd  of  people.  They  fail 
to  acquire  the  feeling  of  a  university,  the  sense  of  membership  of  the 
community.  Their  university  years  do  not  assume,  to  them,  any  defi- 
nite and  peculiar  character,  as  years,  not  only  of  learned  labor,  but  of 
that  serious  training  of  the  character  which  their  collection  together 
would  promote,  but  which  the  dispersedness  of  a  great  city  injures. 
Their  teachers  mostly  remain  at  a  distance  from  them,  and  so  much 
the  nearer  are  the  temptations  which  offer,  and  even  wickedly  force 
themselves  upon  them. 

If  it  is  claimed  that  at  large  cities  the  students  have  opportunities 
of  seeing  and  hearing  works  of  art,  it  may  be  answered,  that  the  stu- 
dents from  the  smaller  universities  go  in  great  numbers  to  Berlin, 
Munich,  Dresden,  &c,  to  see  and  hear  those  very  works,  and  return 
full  of  every  thing  which  they  have  seen  and  heard. 

The  scientific  riches  of  the  larger  universities  can  best  be  made  use 
of  by  students  who  have  prepared  themselves  for  doing  so  at  the 
smaller  universities.  Thus  it  is  usual  for  medical  students  from  the 
smaller  universities,  during  the  latter  years  of  their  student  life,  or 
even  after  their  degree,  to  resort  to  Berlin,  Vienna,  &c,  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  great  institutions  there  ;  being  ready  to  profit  by 
them,  even  if  they  can  obtain  but  little  assistance.  The  same  is  true 
of  those  who  have  studied  natural  sciences  at  the  smaller  universities 
under  their  teachers ;  they  are  prepared  to  profit  by  collections,  &c, 
without  aid.* 

In  conclusion :  a  word  on  the  assertion  that  the  smaller  universi- 
ties contain  no  celebrated  men  ;  no  virtuosos.  This  might  easily  be 
refuted  by  an  enumeration  of  the  crowd  of  eminent  men  who  have 
taught  at  the  smaller  universities  for  centuries,  from  the  time  when 
Luther  and  Melancthon  taught  and  labored  at  Wittenberg,  down  to 
our  own.  It  is  true  that  the  eminent  men  are  invited  from  the  smaller 
to  the  larger  universities.  But  they  have  usually  acquired  their  repu- 
tation at  the  smaller  ;  have  labored  there  during  their  best  and  strong- 
est years,  unexhausted  and  efficiently.  Fame  usually  comes  late, — 
when  they  are  going  down  hill ;  the  invitation  to  the  great  university 
limps  along,  when  they  are  longing  for  their  evening  rest.  We  often 
hear  it  remarked,  that  they  are  resting  there  on  their  laurels. 


*  I  repeat  what  I  have  already  said,  that  for  students  of  theology,  law,  and  philology,  the 
larger  universities  have  not  a  shadow  of  advantage  over  the  smaller. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  241 


VI.  Elementary  Instruction  in  Natural  Science  at  the  University. 

In  the  time  of  Melancthon,  a  Wittenberg  mathematical  teacher  de- 
livered an  address  of  invitation  to  the  students.  In  this  he  praised 
arithmetic,  and  urged  them  not  to  be  discouraged  by  the  difficulty  of 
that  study.  Its  first  elements  were  easy  ;  multiplication  and  division, 
it  is  true,  required  more  labor,  but  with  attention  could  be  acquired 
without  difficulty.  There  are,  no  doubt,  more  difficult  portions  of 
arithmetic;  but,  he  adds,  "I  am  speaking  of  the  beginning,  which 
will  be  taught  to  you,  and  useful  to  you."  In  reading  this  we  can 
scarcely  believe  our  eyes.*  We  shall,  however,  not  wonder,  upon  be- 
coming better  acquainted  with  the  school  instruction  of  that  period. 
At  the  gymnasia,  arithmetic  was  either  not  taught  at  all,  or  as  an  ex- 
tra study.f  The  university  teachers,  therefore,  were  obliged  to  go  over 
what  had  been  neglected  at  the  schools,  and  teach  elementary  por- 
tions which  are  now  taught  in  the  lowest  common-schools. 

Let  us  compare  with  this  the  task  of  a  university  mathematical 
teacher  at  the  present  day.  He  only  inquires,  What  is  the  business 
of  the  gymnasium  as  to  mathematical  instruction  ;  how  far  do  they 
carry  their  scholars?  And  if  the  answer  is,  To  the  understanding 
and  practice  of  plane  trigonometry ;  his  task  is,  to  make  the  terminus 
ad  quern  of  the  school,  the  terminus  a  quo  of  his  own  teaching,  and  to 
take  his  pupils  from  plane  to  spherical  trigonometry,  and  so  onward. 

It  is  not  very  long  since  the  first  serious  introduction  of  instruction 
in  natural  science  into  the  universities ;  and  more  importance  is  daily 
attached  to  it.  For  example,  my  official  predecessor,  Court-councilor 
Von  Schubert,  was  professor  of  natural  history  at  large,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  of  the  special  departments  of  zoology,  botany,  and  mineral- 
ogy. As  requirements  became  greater,  botany  was  first  set  off,  and 
Court-councilor  Koch  appointed  professor  of  botany.  When  I  took 
Schubert's  place  I  stated  that,  besides  natural  history  at  large,  I  could 
attend  only  to  the  special  department  of  mineralogy ;  and  accordingly 
Prof.  A.  Wagner  was  appointed  my  assistant  to  the  chair  of  zoology. 
When  he  was  transferred  to  Munich,  a  special  professorship  of  zoology 
was  founded,  which  was  given  to  Court-councilor  R.  Wagner. 

Any  one  even  moderately  acquainted  with  the  progress  of  natural 
history — who  has  merely  heard  of  the  immense  number  of  species  col- 
lected, examined,  and  described,  in  late  times,  will  see  that  one  profes- 


*  See  "History  of  Education,"  vol.  i.  p.  319.  The  present  essay  belongs  with  the  previous 
portion  (vol.  iii.  part  1,  p.  130),  in  teaching  natural  history,  and  continues  it  more  into  detail,  as 
to  the  present  condition  of  that  instruction  in  the  universities.  t  lb.,  p.  2G5. 

1G 


242  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

sorship  of  natural  history  was  necessarily  divided  among  three  pro- 
fessors. 

This  is  the  condition  of  the  natural-historical  departments  in  the 
universities,  as  to  their  scientific  aims ;  and  how  completely  have  these 
become  changed  within  the  present  century  ! 

But  the  university  teacher  is  concerned,  not  only  with  science,  but 
with  the  teaching  of  it;  not  only  with  beasts,  plants,  and  stones,  but 
with  pupils.  And  has  there  been  a  change  here,  also,  within  fifty 
years  1 

I  answer :  None  whatever.  As  to  natural  history,  they  come  to 
the  university  just  as  ignorant  as  they  did  fifty  years  ago,  notwith- 
standing the  demands  of  science  have  increased  in  such  a  great  propor- 
tion. They  bring  just  as  much  knowledge  of  natural  history  as  the  Wit- 
tenberg mathematician's  scholars  did  of  arithmetic:  that  is,  none  at  all. 

What  terminus  a  quo,  therefore,  shall  be  selected  for  the  instruction 
in  natural  history  of  the  university?  The  no-point  of  complete  igno- 
rance. Elementary  instruction  must,  therefore,  be  given,  at  any  rate ; 
just  as  the  Wittenberg  professor  had  to  teach  his  students  the  four 
ground-rules. 

However  disagreeable  this  may  sound,  we  must  by  no  means  over- 
look this  necessity,  but  rather  give  it  the  more  attention.  We  must 
be  definite  upon  the  beginning,  progress,  and  purpose  of  natural-his- 
torical instruction  at  the  universities.  And  as  to  the  pupils,  we  shall 
not  speak  of  those  few  who  devote  themselves  entirely  to  natural  his- 
tory, but  of  those  who  pursue  professional  studies,  especially  medicine. 

These,  as  we  have  seen,  are,  in  Prussia  and  Bavaria,  examined  in 
zoology,  botany,  and  mineralogy ;  and  thus  must  apportion  their  time 
and  labor  among  the  three  ;  and  also,  the  requirements  from  them 
must  be  proportioned  to  their  attainments  in  the  same.  They  are  also 
examined  in  physic,  chemistry,  and  pharmacognosy ;  which,  together 
with  their  professional  studies,  leave  them  not  much  time  for  natural 
history.  The  most  valuable  part  of  the  lectures  on  it  they  hear  during 
one  short  summer  term  ;  the  more  diligent  repeating  the  course,  as  far 
as  their  professional  studies  will  allow,  during  the  next  summer  term. 

Let  me  be  permitted  the  following  observations  on  this  point.  For 
teaching  Latin,  some  sixteen  terms  are  employed  at  the  schools;  being 
eight  classes.  And  in  one  short  term — or,  at  most,  in  two — the  stu- 
dent is  expected  to  acquire  an  unheard-of  mass  of  knowledge  of  natu- 
ral science,  when  not  even  the  A  B  C  of  it  has  been  taught  him  at 
school.* 


*  I  am  far  from  requiring  that  natural  science  shall  be  put  on  an  equality  with  languages  at 
the  gymnasium.    This  would  be  very  absurd ;  but  the  entire  neglect  of  it,  at  this  day,  seems  in- 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  243 

When  I  was  appointed  professor  of  natural  history,  T  set  myself 
about  considering  my  duties.  Without  confining  myself  strictly  to  the 
usual  conception  of  "  natural  history,"  I  determined  to  become,  though 
unostentatiously,  a  supplementary  instructor  for  the  omissions  of  the 
gymnasium  course,  and  to  teach  such  studies  as  my  pupils  ought  to 
have  learned  at  the  school:  that  is,  mathematical  and  physical  geogra- 
phy, mineralogy,  botany,  zoology,  and  lastly,  anthropology.  In  this 
manner  also,  I  became  clear  as  to  the  just  extent  and  the  proper  ulti- 
mate purpose  of  my  instruction. 

My  lectures  were  intended,  as  I  have  more  fully  explained  in  another 
place,*  to  introduce  youths  before  employed  almost  exclusively  about 
words,  and  who  knew  of  no  organ  for  learning  except  the  ear,  to  a  de- 
partment of  learning  entirely  new  to  them,  and  prosecuted  mostly  by 
the  eye.  To  oral  explanations  I  added,  as  far  as  possible,  the  exami- 
nation of  minerals,  plants,  and  animals.  This  was,  however,  only  to 
open  their  eyes,  as  it  were;  for  a  thorough,  permanent,  and  satisfactory 
acquaintance  with  the  subjects  in  hand  was  not  to  be  thought  of;  their 
eyes  were  too  fast  shut,  and  the  time  much  too  short.  This  practice 
was  first  commenced  in  the  lectures  on  mineralogy,  botany,  and  zool- 
ogv,  as  connected  with  general  natural  history.  The  exercise  of  their 
eyes,  before  so  neglected,  and  incapable  of  intelligent  observation,  was 
secured  by  examining  minerals,  plants,  and  animals,  and  was  so  man- 
aged as  to  proceed  together  with  the  elementary  instruction  in  miner- 
alogy, botany,  and  zoology. 

Such  lowest  classes  in  natural  history  require  a  teacher  who  can 
deal  with  each  scholar,  with  inexhaustible  patience,  and  lead  him  to 
consider,  in  a  proper  order,  the  species  in  their  scientific  arrangement; 
while  at  the  same  time  he  goes  forward  in  the  development  of  his 
power  of  vison  and  of  comprehension,  and  in  knowledge  of  the 
subject. 

In  such  exercises  the  pupil  of  twenty  years  of  age  has  no  advantage 
over  one  of  ten  ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  younger  has,  usually,  much 
more  receptive  capacity,  and  an  apprehension  of  things,  purer  and  not 
modified  by  reflection. 

The  teacher  of  these  elements  must  have  the  feelings  and  senti- 
ments of  an  elementary  teacher;  he  must  be  interested  as  much  in  the 
development  of  his  pupil  as  in  his  science;  must  be  able  to  draw  op 

defensible.     See  my  observations  (p.  140,  part  1,  of  vol.  iii.  of  this  work)  on  instruction  in  natu- 
ral knowledge  at  the  gymnasium.     So  far  as  such  studies  are  introduced  there,  however,  it  is 
naturally   the  duty  of   the  university  to   make   changes   corresponding  with  the   amount  of 
knowledge  brought  from  the  gymnasium  by  the  students. 
*  See  •*  History  of  Education,'"  vol.  iii.  part  1,  p.  1GS. 


244  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

as  correct  a  monograph  of  bis  scholar  as  of  a  species.  Of  course  he 
must  not  lecture,  but  must  teach  dialogically.  And  after  this  element- 
ary instruction,  higher  classes  must  follow. 

It  is  the  business  of  the  scholars  in  elementary  zoology,  to  go,  under 
the  direction  of  their  teacher,  if  not  through  the  whole  zoological  col- 
lection, yet  through  the  most  important  parts  of  it.  Its  system  must  be 
made  known  to  them,  not  by  instruction  mostly  oral,  such  as  often  fol- 
lows a  rapid  display  of  the  animals,  but  must  be  made  real  by  thorough 
examination  of  a  scientifically  arranged  collection  ;  and  from  this  actual 
intuition  the  teacher  must  deduce  the  positive  verbal  definitions  of  the 
various  species,  genera,  &c,  as  -well  as  by  comparing  them  together,  a 
knowledge  of  the  differences  of  the  same. 

The  second  class  in  zoology  will  study  comparative  anatomy  ;  using, 
at  first,  Linnaeus'  Descriptive  Zoology,  and  afterward  Cuvier's  "Ana- 
tomic Comparee ;"  the  knowledge  of  the  more  important  species  of 
animals  being  now  supposed.  It  is  now  also  time  to  begin  with  or- 
ganic chemistry  and  physiology. 

The  elementary  instruction  in  mineralogy  begins  with  a  knowledge 
of  the  species  by  their  external  distinctions.  Among  other  things, 
there  is  now  necessary  a  knowledge  of  the  forms  and  families  of  crys- 
tals, which  can  scarcely  be  gained  at  all  except  by  the  eye ;  and  skill 
in  recognizing  them  in  the  minerals  themselves.  From  this  elementary 
class  different  paths  lead  to  the  higher  classes.  The  physical  knowl- 
edge of  the  crystals  leads  to  pure  mathematical  crystallography  ; 
mineralogical  chemistry  seems  as  necessary  a  complement  to  knowl- 
edge of  the  exteriors  of  minerals,  as  in  organic  chemistry,  to  descriptive 
zoology  and  botany.  In  this  elementary  course  on  mineralogy  the 
scholar  also  receives  the  beginning  of  the  more  important  departments 
of  physical  instruction,  as  electricity,  magnetism,  optics;  and  it  is  like- 
wise a  necessary  preparatory  school  for  geognosy. 

Botany  must  also  begin  with  the  simplest  acquaintance  with  the  prin- 
cipal genera  and  species;  to  proceed  either  on  the  Linnaean  system,  or 
by  a  selection  of  the  most  distinct  families  of  plants.  Excursions  and 
the  botanic  garden  must  be  made  use  of  at  the  same  time.  In  the  garden, 
all  the  species  of  one  genus  should  stand  together,  as  far  as  possible ; 
and  the  scientific  arrangement  should  be  clearly  distinguishable  by  the 
eve.  A  plan  of  the  garden  should  also  be  lithographed,  giving  the 
genera  as  they  stand  on  each  bed.  With  this  plan  in  hand,  and  with 
the  names  of  the  species  on  each  bed,  the  pupil  can  easily  make  his 
own  way,  even  with  little  aid  from  his  teacher. 

The  elementary  course  on  botany  should  last  from  planting-time 
till  seed-time;  to  instruct  the  pupil  not  only  in  the  recognition  and 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  245 

description  of  the  species,  &c,  but  in  the  development  of  plants,  from 
their  sprouting  until  the  ripening  of  the  seed. 

In  higher  classes,  the  chemistry,  physiology,  and  geography  of  plants 
will  be  taught. 

Elementary  instruction  in  mineralogy,  botany,  and  zoology  should 
be,  in  my  opinion,  as  simple  as  possible  ;  and  not  perplexed  by  prema- 
ture hastening  into  branches  which  belong  further  forward.  For  ex- 
ample,  mineralogical  chemistry,  as  I  have  remarked,  must  follow 
descriptive  mineralogy,  which  relates  to  external  characteristics.  The 
former,  without  actual  chemical  operations,  is  nothing  but  a  descrip- 
tion of  operations,  a  statement  of  analytical  results — nothing  but  mere 
words.  Any  competent  person  will  testify  that  it  is  out  of  the  question 
to  pursue  a  thorough  course  of  mineralogy  and  one  of  mineralogical 
chemistry  at  the  same  time.  A  brief  anecdote  will  show  why  the  for- 
mer must  precede.  A  certain  chemist  published  an  analysis  of  zircon, 
which  gave  a  constituent  not  before  found  in  zircon.  A  second  dis- 
tinguished analyzer,  therefore,  examined  a  number. of  zircons,  but  could 
discover  not  an  atom  of  this  constituent.  This  incomprehensible 
enigma  was  very  simply  solved,  by  the  fact,  to  wit,  that  the  mineral 
analyzed  by  the  first  chemist  was  not  zircon ;  he  having  misnamed  the 
mineral  for  want  of  thorough  mineralogical  knowledge.  A  correct 
determination  of  the  mineral  must  precede  the  analysis  of  it ;  mineral- 
ogy must  precede  mineralogical  chemistry.  In  the  same  wray  the 
anatomist  might  err  if  he  had  misnamed  the  animal  he  was  anato- 
mizing, from  lack  of  knowledge  of  descriptive  zoology. 

VII.  Students'  Songs. 

Popular  songs,  which  are  extensively  sung  at  any  period,  reveal  the 
tendencies  of  the  people.  "Out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the 
mouth  speaketh."  Sometimes  these  are  sad  remembrances  of  a  greater 
and  better  time  past,  lamentations  over  its  transientness,  longing  after 
a  better  future,  or  joyous  pleasure  in  the  present.  The  unfortunate 
years  of  the  French  tyranny  were  already  approaching  when  the  Ger- 
mans sang,  "Life  let  us  cherish,  while  yet  the  taper  glows;"  under  the 
domination  of  Napoleon,  was  to  be  heard,  in  every  street,  "  It  cau  not 
always  thus  remain;"  but,  in  1815,  the  victors  sang  Schenkendorf's 
song,  "  How  to  me  thy  pleasures  beckon,  after  slavery,  after  strife." 

If  we  had  a  complete  collection  of  the  songs  which  the  German 
poets  have  sung  at  different  times,  we  should  obtain  profound  views  of 
the  condition  of  the  universities  at  those  times.  A  chief  chapter  in 
the  history  of  these  songs  includes  the  years  of  the  war,  1813  to  1815. 

In  earlier  times  the  students  sang  songs  animated  with  the  spirit  of 


246  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

the  Burschen  :  beer,  tobacco,  idleness,  dueling,  were  celebrated  in  a 
vulgar  manner;  and  some  most  obscene  songs,  even,  were  in  vogue. 
The  reverse  of  these  indecent  songs  were  lamentably  sentimental  ones, 
in  which  the  singer,  putting  himself  in  the  future,  looks  back,  with 
sorrow,  to  the  pleasant  life  of  the  universities,  and  paints  the  Philister- 
life  as  quite  the  opposite  of  his  lost  academical  paradise.  There  were 
some  of  them  which  celebrated  the  sickness  which  follows  a  day  spent 
in  dissipation. 

I  am  not  exaggerating;  the  Commers-book  contains  my  evidence. 
For  instance,  how  often,  among  others,  were  numerous  reckless  and 
abandoned  parodies  on  the  psalm,  Ecce  quam  bonum  (Behold  how  good, 
&c),  sung. 

The  pitiable  young  men  of  that  period  had  no  pure  and  lofty  ideal  ; 

no  patriotism  nor  religion  inspired  them.     It  was  only  here  and  there 

that  a  better  spirit  prevailed  in  their  songs, — where  and  how  could  it 

have  been  displayed  in  their  lives  ?     In  the  "  Country's  Father"  they 

sang : 

"  Life  and  goods 
For  thee  to  give 

Are  we  all  as  one  agreed, 
All  prepared  to  die  we're  found, 
Fearing  not  the  deadly  wound, 

If  the  fatherland  hath  need." 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  this  stanza  proceeded  from  the 

same  feelings  with  the  watchword  of  the  war  of  freedom,  "With  God, 

for  king  and  fatherland."     Very  distant  was  any  such  conception,  in  a 

time  when  there  was  no  opportunity  to  die  for  their  country  except  by 

enlisting  in  a  standing  army  ;  a  most  frightful  thing  to  a  student.    The 

display  of  aspiration  after  the  patriotic  purpose  of  this  poem,  then, 

must  be  circumscribed  by  the  narrow  limits  of  student-life,  where  the 

singers  with  drawn  swords,  and  a  row  of  hats  stuck  on  them,  thought 

little  enough  of  fighting  or  dying  for  their  fatherland.    The  Prccsea  of 

the  meeting  sung : 

"Then  bring  him  up  ;  his  head  I'll  decorate 
By  laying  sword-stroke  on  his  pate. 
Hail  to  our  brother  !  long  live  he, 
And  hounds-foot,  who  insults  him,  he." 

But  we  hear  nothing  of  the  Dulce  et  decorum  pro  patria  ?7iori,  and 
are  transferred  from  the  atmosphere  of  holy  and  noble  patriotism  to 
the  wild,  unholy  sphere  of  the  Comment ;  to  the  sphere  of  a  false 
honor,  recognized  neither  by  Christians  nor  heathens,  and,  least  of  all, 
by  God. 

With  the  sad  year  of  1806  began  a  new  period  for  the  universities; 
by  the  awakening,  in  many  students,  of  a  deep  and  pitiful  love  for  their 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  247 

poor  enslaved  country.  This  was  proved  by  the  engagement  of  all  the 
students  to  whom  it  was  possible,  in  the  war,  in  1813. 

At  their  return  to  the  universities,  in  1815,  there  came  into  vogue 
a  new  and  loftier  class  of  songs.  Most  of  the  previous  student  songs 
were  disused,  and  their  places  supplied  by  patriotic  songs  by  Korner, 
Sehenkendorf,  Arndt,  and  others.  The  same  young  men  who  had 
fought  in  the  battles  of  the  war  of  freedom,  sung  these  songs  with  en- 
thusiasm, and  handed  them  down  to  subsequent  generations.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  Turners  and  of  the  Burschenschaft  was  prominent  in 
causing  this  state  of  things. 

The  song-books  published  just  after  the  war  are  very  characteristic. 
One  published  by  Binzer  and  Methfessel,  in  1818,  contained  "ancient 
and  modern  student  songs,  drinking  songs,  patriotic  songs,  and  songs 
for  war  and  for  the  Turners."  But  it  was  a  heterogeneous  mixture. 
Many  of  the  old  student  songs,  such  as  "  Qa  ca,  we've  feasted,"  or, 
"  Crambamboli,"  seem  much  too  vulgar  by  the  side  of  such  lofty  and 
heroic  ones,  inspired  by  patriotism,  as  "  A  higher  sound  is  heard," 
"Sad  foreboding,  deadly  weary,"  and  "In  a  good  hour  are  we  united." 
The  butterfly  was  still  in  the  pupa  condition.  Still,  some  of  the  older 
songs  admitted  are  inspired  by  nobler  feelings,  and  express  a  noble  love 
of  country ;  as,  for  instance,  "Place  you,  brothers,  in  a  circle." 

I  need  scarcely  say  that  such  men  as  Methfessel  and  Binzer  would 
not  admit  any  indecent  songs,  or  even  any  in  the  least  ambiguous  ;  but 
they  adhered  too  closely  to  university  traditions  in  admitting  songs 
there  for  many  years. 

In  the  same  year,  1818,  when  Methfessel's  book  appeared,  a  collec- 
tion was  published  at  Berlin,  entitled  "  German  Songs  for  Young  and 
Old."  This  does  not  profess  to  be  a  Commers-book,  and  the  editors 
were,  therefore,  not  tempted  to  insert  those  weatherbeaten  old  songs ; 
but  the  collection  deserves  mention  here,  because  made  by  Turners  and 
members  of  the  Burschenschaft,  and  in  great  reputation  among  the 
students.  It  included  the  best  popular  and  patriotic  songs,  especially 
such  as  related  to  the  glorious  war  of  freedom.  There  were  also  some 
choice  religious  hymns.  These,  indeed,  could  not  properly  be  omit- 
ted;  for  if  the  motto  of  the  Turners,  "Bold,  fiee,  joyous,  and  pious," 
was  true,  they  must  naturally  publish,  not  only,  "bold,  free,  and  joy- 
ous" songs,  but  "  pious"  ones  also. 

If  this  patriotic  spirit  had  but  continued  to  be  more  and  more  pro- 
foundly inwrought  with  Christianity  !  But  the  times  were  not  ready 
for  this,  and  therefore  the  young  men  fell  into  error.  Sand's  fearful 
crime,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a  source  of  incalculable  evils  to  the  uni- 
versities. 


248  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

There  next  followed  a  period  during  which  there  was  an  end  of  in- 
nocent songs  and  singing;  a  period  during  which  one  part  of  the 
young  men  was  absorbed  in  troubled  melancholy  and  gloomy  brooding 
over  the  future  of  the  country.  During  this  appeared,  in  1819  and 
1820,  A.  Follenius'  "Free  Voices  of  Bold  Youth:1 

These  songs  mark  a  turning-point.  On  one  hand,  they  belong  to 
the  past,  the  period  of  the  war  of  freedom  ;  as,  for  instance,  a  number 
of  songs  by  Korner,  Schenkendorf,  and  Arndt.  On  the  other  hand, 
tlie  writers,  despairing  of  the  present,  turned  their  eyes  toward  a  pre- 
sumed better  future,  for  whose  introduction  they  called  enthusiastically, 
and  with  a  demoniac  force  in  their  poetry.  There  is  no  more  despair 
about  foreign  dominion.  Chivalry,  empire,  revolution,  popular  repub- 
licanism, freedom,  and  equality,  rush  confusedly  about  together  in 
their  enthusiastic  compositions,  elements  most  various,  and  even  most 
inconsistent.  Even  Christianity  is  drawn  into  the  elemental  storm  ; 
that  is,  the  name,  for  the  thing  itself  is  distorted  and  deformed  beyond 
recognition. 

Excellent  melodies  doubled  the  influence  of  these  songs ;  their 
wretched  convulsive  perplexities  were,  as  it  were,  thus  gilded  over.* 

While  this  collection  had  a  character  in  part  only  too  distinct,  that 
which  succeeded  it  was  without  one.  It  contained  songs  of  the  most 
various  periods,  and  most  various  and  even  opposite  character. 

After  the  year  1830,  however,  new  elements  are  found  in  the  song- 
books  ;  radical  songs,  namely,  by  Herwegh  and  similar  poets,  marked, 
not  by  the  earlier  stormy  poetical  power,  but  by  a  profoundly  bitter, 
and  even  malicious  character.  The  confusion  was  increased  by  the 
addition  to  the  previous  enthusiastically  patriotic  song*,  characterless 
cosmopolitan  ones  were  added.  We  find  Arndt's  "What  is  the  Ger- 
man Fatherland  V  and  "  What  do  the  Trumpets  sound  ?"  Korner's 

"  This  is  no  war  to  which  the  Crowns  are  knowing, 
A  crusade  is  it — 'tis  a  holy  war,"  &c. 

And  in  the  same  collection  we  find  the  Marseillaise !  Did  not  these 
catholic-minded  editors,  then,  know  who  are  meant,  in  the  Marseil- 
laise, by  the 

"  feroces  soldats 
(Qui)  viennent  j usque  dans  vos  bras, 
Egorger  vos  fils,  vos  compagnes — ' ' 

by  the  "horde  d'esclaves,  de  traitres,"  &c?  And  if  they  did  know, 
what  is  the  name  which  their  insertion  of  it  deserves  ? 


*  For  a  correct  opinion  as  to  these  songs,  see  the  account  of  Karl  Follenius  and  his  friends, 
ante,  pp.  Ill,  125,  &c. 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  249 

With  patriotism  disappeared  also  lofty  purity  of  morals  and  piety. 
The  ancient  vulgar  songs  which  the  Burschenschaft  had  driven  away, 
make  their  appearance  again  in  the  modern  song-books,  with  additional 
ones  of  the  same  kind.  The  beastly  indecency  of  the  ancient  ones  is, 
however,  most  prominent;  and  becomes  doubly  reckless  and  bad. 

At  a  very  recent  period  have  been  put  forth,  by  students'  societies, 
song-books  which  adhere  to  Christian  and  to  strict  moral  principles. 
In  some  incomprehensible  way,  however,  have  crept  into  these  books, 
among  songs  of  the  most  beautiful  character,  a  few  stray  ones  of  a  dia- 
metrically opposite  character.  It  is  much  to  be  wished  that  this  error 
could  be  cured  in  a  new  edition,  and  the  appearance  of  evil  removed. 

FAREWELL. 

A  heavy  responsibility  rests  on  every  writer  on  pedagogy ;  a  respon- 
sibility which  increases  if  his  book  has  any  influence  on  actual  life. 

May  this  work  of  mine,  and  especially  the  latter  part  of  it,  give  pain 
to  no  reader.  I  have  written  nothing  without  consideration  and  re- 
flection ;  yet  I  can  say,  with  the  psalmist,  "Lord,  who  can  understand 
his  errors?     Cleanse  thou  me  from  secret  faults." 

And  I  say  this,  even  in  reference  to  those  busy  years  of  inquiry 
which  I  passed  at,  Breslau  and  Halle,  after  the  war  of  freedom ;  espe- 
cially during  that  wretched  period  which  came  upon  the  universities 
after  Sand's  unrighteous  deed.  And  still,  during  the  most  friendly 
and  open  intercourse  with  loved  students,  I  was  obliged  to  keep  silence 
respecting  many  bitter  truths,  which,  however,  if  said,  would  only  have 
awakened  or  increased  ill-feeling. 

I  hope  that  that  severe  discipline  taught  me  moderation  and  reli- 
gious modesty,  which  will  prevent  me  from  inconsiderate  haste,  even 
in  statements  most  interesting  to  my  heart. 

It  was  my  repulsive  and  troublesome  task  to  describe  the  frightful 
condition  of  the  life  of  the  students,  as  it  appeared,  especially  during 
the  seventeenth  century,  in  the  most  frightful  period  of  the  history  of 
our  country.  With  correspondingly  greater  pleasure  I  considered  the 
many  efforts  which,  at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  and  during  and 
after  the  war  of  freedom,  were  made  for  good  purposes,  by  the  stu- 
dents. During  the  first  part  of  this  time,  there  prevailed  an  active 
and  laborious  attention  to  science,  and  in  the  ancient  and  modern 
classics;  and  the  young  were  also  deeply  interested  in  the  profound 
and  poetical  study  of  natural  philosophy.  Love  of  their  country,  how- 
ever, was  asleep,  although  afterward  only  too  sadly  awakened  ;  Chris- 
tianity wore  the  color  of  a  poetical  romance,  its  moral  side  being  more 


250  ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS. 

out  of  sight ;  and  the  life  succeeding  that  at  the  university,  was  thought 
of  only  unwillingly. 

During  the  second  part  of  this  period,  prevailed  the  powerful  patriot- 
ism and  strict  morality  kindled  by  the  war  of  freedom.  The  romantic 
element,  on  the  other  hand,  decreased ;  and  Christianity  appeared  no 
longer  in  the  character  of  romance,  but  rather  suffered  the  chlorosis 
of  a  moralizing  rationalism. 

During  about  the  last  twenty  years,  the  youth  of  the  universities 
have  passed  into  a  third  stage  ;  I  refer  to  the  associations  which  have 
been  founded  under  the  name  of  Christian. 

A  holy  courage  is  needed  to  serve  and  contend  under  that  name. 

"A  coward  knave,  who  still  doth  stand, 
When  '  Forward  !'  doth  his  chief  command." 

A  students'  association  which  professes  that  Christianity  is  its  chief 
aim,  has  indeed  aimed  high.  But  the  higher  its  purpose,  so  much  the 
more  earnest  and  efficient  does  its  life  become.  May  they  always  be 
thoughtful  of  the  warning  words  : 

"  Let  our  thoughts  still  watchful  be, 
If  our  hearts  for  truth  shall  care, 
If  our  souls  depend  on  Thee, 
If  we  seem,  or  if  we  are." 

This  is  not  said  in  the  sense  of  a  false  pietism ;  it  is  an  urgent  ad- 
monition to  do  the  truth  (John  iii.  21). 

It  should  not  be  supposed  that  the  previous  noble  aims  of  the  youth 
of  the  universities  have  entirely  perished,  or  that  they  are  to  be  reck- 
oned of  a  grade  inferior  to  the  magnificence  of  Christian  enterprise. 
This  would  be  altogether  to  misunderstand  Christianity.  Love  of 
country  will  never  be  repressed,  but  sanctified  and  enlightened  by 
Christianity.  For  my  love  of  my  country  is  the  first  element  of  love 
to  my  people;  to  the  people  among  whom  God  has  caused  me  to  be 
born,  to  be  useful  and  helpful  to  my  neighbor ;  it  is  my  preparatory 
school  for  eternity. 

In  like  manner  it  would  be  a  pseudo-pietistic  barbarism  to  reject 
science  and  art ;  they  should  be  purified  and  sanctified  and  made  an 
acceptable  offering  to  the  Lord,  from  whom  come  all  good  gifts,  and 
likewise  all  natural  endowments,  so  far  as  they  are  good. 

My  love  to  many  members  of  these  Christian  associations  at  the 
universities,  upon  which  I  heartily  ask  God's  blessing,  would  not  suffer 
me  to  refrain  from  these  observations.  May  He  preserve  them,  in  this 
world  of  investigation,  preserve  them  from  vanity  and  love  of  life,  and 


ACADEMICAL    SUBJECTS.  251 

grant  them  heroic  minds  in  the  difficult  age  in  which  we  live,  and 
strengthen  and  establish  them. 

To  those  dear  young  men  who  preserve,  in  the  depths  of  their 
hearts,  a  love  to  their  fatherland,  I  would  say,  preserve  this  love,  and 
labor  with  reference  to  the  nation.  But  should  iniquity  so  increase  as 
to  force  us  to  take  up  arms,  then  fight  bravely  to  the  death  for  your 
beloved  fatherland,  a»the  German  youth  fought  in  the  war  of  freedom. 
But  remain  ever  mindful,  that  after  this  brief  life,  you  must  journey  to 
another  fatherland,  a  heavenly.  Love  not,  therefore,  the  temporal 
fatherland,  as  if  it  were  eternal.  As  you  have  been  instructed  in 
Christianity  from  your  youth,  you  know  what  is  requisite  to  attain 
the  heavenly  citizenship. 

Youths  who,  like  myself  and  my  student  companions,  devote  them- 
selves especially  to  science,  should  apply  themselves  with  such  industry 
as  Bacon  requires  from  those  who  devote  themselves  to  philosophy. 
A  superficial  study  of  philosophy,  he  says,  leads  from  God  ;  a  thorough 
one,  to  Him.  Toward  Him,  because  it  leads  not  only  to  knowledge  of 
divine  things,  but  to  self-knowledge  ;  to  perception  that  our  knowledge 
is  only  a  fragmentary  collection.  Every  right-minded  investigator 
must  sooner  or  later  humbly  confess,  "How  vast  is  that  of  which  I 
know  nothing!"  Then  awakes  the  longing,  with  winged  speed  to 
comprehend  those  secrets  which  the  most  laborious  application  will 
not  enable  us,  within  this  temporal  life,  to  comprehend.  Weary  of 
our  earthly  tabernacle,  we  long  for  the  freedom  of  the  children  of 
God  ;  and  sigh,  with  Claudius, 

"  0  thou  land,  the  truthful  and  the  real, 
Thou  that  dost  eternal  be, 
How  I  long  to  see  thy  bright  ideal- 
How  I  long  for  thee  !" 


THE  GERMAN  UNIVERSITIES.  253 

XIII.    Authorities  referred  to  in  Raumer's  German  Universities. 

Arnoldt,  Complete  History  of  the  University  of  Konig6berg,  (Aus- 
fuhrliche  Historic  der  Konigsberger  Universitat,)  1746.     2  parts. 

Becmann,  Memoranda  Relating  to  the  University  of  Frankfurt. 
{Memoranda  Francofurtana,)  1076. 

Notices  of  the  University  of  Frankfurt,  (Notitia  Universitatis  Franco- 
furtana},) 1707. 

Bonicke,  Outlines  of  a  History  of  the  University  of  Wurzburg,  (Grun- 
driss  einer  Geschichte   von   der   Universitat   zu    Wiizburg,)  1782.     2  parts. 

Conring,  II.,  On  Academical  Antiquities,  (De  Antiquitatibus  Academ- 
icus,)  1739. 

Dieterici,  Historical  and  Statistical  Accounts  of  the  Prussian  Uni- 
versities, (Geschichtliche  und  Statistische  Nachrickten  uber  die  Universitdten 
iin  Preussischen  Staate,)  1836. 

Eichstadt,  Annals  of  the  University  of  Jena,  (Annates  Academia;  Je- 
nensis,)  1823. 

Engelhardt,  The  University  of  Erlangen,  from  1743  to  1843,  (Die 
Universitat  Erlangen  von  1743,  bis  1843.) 

Gadendam  and  others.  History  of  the  University  of  Erlangen,  (Historia 
Academic,  Fridericianxz  Erlangensis.)  1744. 

Gesner,  J.  M.,  History  of  the  University  of  Gottingen,  (De  Academia 
Georgia  Augusta  qua  Gbttingai  est.,)  1737. 

Gretschel.     University  of  Leipzig,  {Die   Universitat  Leipzig,)  1830. 

Grohmann.  Annals  of  the  University  of  Wittenberg,  (Annalen  der 
Universitat  Wittenberg,)  Meisaen,  180.1.     3  parts. 

Hausper,  History  of  the  Rhenish  Palatinate,  (Geschichte  der  Rheinis- 
chen  Pfalz,)  1845.     2  parts. 

Haupt,  J.  L.,  The  Landmansciiapften  on  the  Burschenschaft,  (Landsmann- 
schaften  und  Burschenschaft.) 

Henke,  The  University  of  IIelmstadt  in  the  16th  Century,  (Die  Uni- 
versitat Helmstddt  iin  16  Jahrhundert,)  1833. 

Hoffbaur,  History  of  the  University  of  Halle,  (Geschichte  der 
Universitat  zu  Halle,)  1805. 

Heumann,  Library  of  University  History.  (Bibliotheca  Historica  Aca- 
demical) 

Justi,  Outlines  of  a  History  of  the  University  at  Marburg,  (Grund- 
zilge  einer  Geschichte  der  Universitat  zu  Marburg,)  1827. 

Klupfel,  History  and  Description  of  the  University  of  Tubingen, 
(Geschichte  und  Beschreibung  der  Universitat  Tubingen.)  1849. 

Koch,  The  Prussian  Universities,  (Die  Preussischen  Universitdten,)  1839. 
2  vols. 

Lotichius,  Oration  on  the  Present  Fatal  Evils  in  the  Universities  of 
Germany,  Delivered  at  the  University  of  Rinteln,  1631,  (Oratio  super  fatalibus 
hue  Temp.  Academiarum  in  Ger mania  pericuiis,  recitala  in  Academia  Rintelen- 
si,)  1631. 

Mederer,  Annals  of  the  University  of  Ingolstadt,  commenced  by  V. 
Rotin  irusand  Job.  Engerdus,  and  continued  by  Mederer,  (Annates  IngoUtadien- 
sis  Academiai  inchoaverunt  V.  Rotmarus  et  Joh.  Engerdus,  continuavit  Me- 
derer,) 1782. 

Meiners,  History  of  the  Establishment  and  Growth  of  the  Universi- 
ties, {Geschichte  der  Entstehung  und  Entwicklung  der  hoheu  Schulen,)  1802. 
4  vols. 

Meiners,  Organization  and  Administration  of  the'  German  Universi- 
ties, (Ueber  Verfassung  und  Vcrwaltung  Deutscher  Universitdten.)  2  vols., 
1801  and  1802. 


THE  GERMAN  UNIVERSITIES. 

Mkvfart,  Christian  Recollections,  {Christliche  Erimierung,)  163G.  See 
p.  54. 

Mohl,  R.,  Historical  Account  of  the  Manners  and  Conduct  of  the 
Tubingen  Students  during  the  16th  Century,  (Geachichtliche  Nachweisungen 
itber  die  Sliten  und  das  Bctragen  der  Tubingen  Studierenden  wdhrend  des 
16  Jahrhunderts.)  1840. 

Monuments  of  the  History  of  the  University  of  Prague,  (Mbnumenta 
ffistorica  Univcrsitatis  Carolo-Fcrdinandece  Prauensis.)  \o\.  I..  Part  1,  1830. 
Part  2,  1882.  ' 

MOTSCHMANN,  LiTEKARY  History  of  Erfurt,  (Erfordia  Littrata.)  3  vols. 
1729—1748. 

Palacky,  History  of  Bohemia,  (Geschichie  von  Bolimen,)  1842.  (Part  2 
of*  vol.  2.) 

Piderit,  History  of  the  University  of  Rinteln,  (Geschichie  der  Univzr- 
siidi  Rinteln,)  1842. 

Rehtmeier,   Chronicle  of  Brunswick-Lunenburg,  (Braunschweig-Liknc' 

burgscht  Clin  mica.)  1722. 

Rommel,  Philip,  Landgrave  of  TIesse,  (PMipp  Lwidgraf  von  Ilessen,) 
1  b^>l). 

Savigny,  History  of  Roman  Law  in  the  Middle  Ages,  (Geschichie 
des  ftdmittchen  Recltte  im  Mittdaikr,)  3d  vol.,  1832.     (2d  ed.) 

Schlikenrieder,  Chronology  and  Documents  of  the  University  of 
Vienna,  (Chronotogia  Diplomatica  Univerisitatis  Vindobonensis,)  1753.  Second 
part  by  ZeiaL 

SciioTTGEN.  History  ofPennalism.  (Historic  des  Pennalwesens,)  17-17. 

SCHREIBER,  FREIBURG  IN  THE  Breisgau  (Freiburg  im  Breisgau,)  1825. 

Sciiuppius.  Balthazar,  WORKS,  (Schriflen.) 

Schwab,  List  of  Rectors  of  the  University  of  Heidelberg,  for  Four 
Centuries,  (Euatuor  Seculorivrh  Syllabus  Rectorum  qui  .  .  .  in  Acadentia 
ffeidelbergensi  Magi -stratum  Academicum  Gesxerunt.)  1786. 

Tomes,  History  of  the  University  of  Prague,  (Geschichie  der  Prater 
Universituf.)  1849. 

\Vesselhoft,  R..  German  Youth  in  the  Late  Burschexsciiaften  and 
Turning  Societies,  (Teutsche  Jugmd  in  weilwnd  Burschenschaften  und  Turnge- 
meinden,)  1828. 

Will,  History  and  Description  of  the  University  of  Altorf,  (Geschichie 
und  Beschreibung  der  Universitat  Altorf,)  1795. 
Zeisl,  See  Schlikenrieder. 


INDEX 


TO 


RAUMER'S  GERMAN  UNIVERSITIES. 


Absolution  of  pennals,  51 

Academies,  scientific,  237. 

Alexander  de  Villa  Dei,  22. 

Altorf,  universitv,  10,  11,  53,  56,  254. 

»  Aretinus,"  by  Meyfart,  191. 

Aristotfe,  text-hooks  by,  22,  54. 

Ar  thirietic,  241. 

Arn.it.  M.,  131,  150. 

Arnoidt,  253. 

ArU,  faculty  of,  21,  54 

"  Bahrdt,"  wit    the  Iron  Forehead,  186. 

Bamberg,  university,  J,J- 

Base,  university,  198. 

Beanus,  synonym*  of,  191. 

Becmann,  253. 

Bembo.  cardinal,  17. 

Bekker.  69. 

Benin,  university,  10,  183,  198,  214. 

Betliune,  E.  von,  22. 

Binzer,  134.  247. 

Blumenbach,  61. 

Bohemian  nation  at  Prague,  19. 

Bologna,  university,  9,  11. 

Bonieke.  253. 

Botany,  244. 

B  >r.n,  universitv,  10,  198. 

Boyle,  228. 

Bresl.o,  university.  10,  78,92,  102,  198 

Bui. s  to  German  universities,  12,  157. 

Bundestag,  resolutions  of,  129 

Bursaries.  32,  160. 

Buri,  poem  bv,  128. 

Burschenschaft,  80,  91,  125,  131,  148,  165. 

Cambridge,  universitv,  11. 
Canon  law,  9,  26. 

Carthage,  university,  30. 

Certificates  of  attendance,  207. 

Chancellor  of  university,  15,  20. 

Charitable  endowment*,  10,21. 

Circuli  fratrum,  54. 

Civil  law  9,  20. 

Colleges,  universities,  10. 

Cologne,  university,  10,  11, 

Comment,  54,  55,  161. 

C mring.  253. 

Convents,  property  of,  to  universities,  14. 

Council,  20. 

Count  palatineship  of  rector,  17, 195. 

C  -urse  of  study,  22. 

Cracow,  university,  18. 

Dantzie,  <rymnasitim,  217. 

Dean  of  faculty,  10,  20,  39. 

Degree,  14,20/24,  26,27,  28. 

Deposition,  37. 

Development,  human,  180,  181. 

De  Welte.  Prof.,  120. 

Dialogic  instruction,  201. 

Dieterici,  253. 

Diliingen,  university,  10. 

Dittmar,  152. 

Doctrinale,  22. 

Donatui,  22. 

Dueling.  55,  64,  79,  135. 

Dmsburg,  university,  10. 

F.berhard,  69 
Kdiing,  count  von,  90. 
Ku-hstadt,  253. 
F.ngelhardt,  253. 


Englehart,  57. 

Enhorate,  235.  „„ 

Erfurt,  university,  10,  11.  14,  20,  53,  1;>9,  2o4. 
Frlangen,  university,  10,  16,  17,  56,  |07,  184,  198,  223 
235,  253. 

Faculties,  14, 19,  21,  25,  26,  28. 
Faculty  of  arts,  21,  54. 

theology,  25. 

civil  and  canon  law,  26. 

medicine,  28. 
Fiorilio,  61. 
Follenius,  A.,  127,  248. 
Follenius.  K„  111,  112,  125,147 
Forkel,  63. 

Francke,  231,  232.  <o  amn 

Frankfurt,  university,  10,  15,  16,  17,  19,  2*3 
Frederic,  elector,  and  Wittenberg,  16. 
Frederic  Barbarossa,  and  Bologna,  9,  11. 
Freiburg,  universitv,  10,  198,254. 
Fritz,  baron  von,  89. 
Fryksell,  on  deposition,  37. 

Gadendam,  253 
Gall,  Dr.,  74. 

Gaming  of  students,  65,  66. 

General  German  Burschensehaft,91,  131,  loo. 

Gesner,  253. 

G lessen,  university,  10,  184,  198. 

Goethe,  67.  69. 

Gottfrid,  I'oetria  Nova  of.  22. 

Gott.ngen,  univ.,  10, 16,  17,  53,  56,  59, 184,  198,  253. 

Grammar,  22. 

Gratz,  university,  10,  198. 

Greifswald,  university,  10,  198. 

Grohmann,  253. 

Gymnasium,  217. 

Hanefumve^O,  16,  17,  52,  59,  68,  79,  136,  192, 

1!)8,  230,  253. 
Haupt,  253. 

HeideTbirg,  university,  9,  10,  18, 19,  20,  185,  198,  254. 

Henke,  253. 

Helmstadt,  university,  10,  17,  233,  253. 

Herborn,  university,  10. 

Herder,  59. 

Herwegh,  248. 

Hewinann,  253. 

Heyder,  Prof.  VV.,  42, 188. 

HorTbaur,  253. 

llotling,  Councilor,  235. 

Hohnhorst.  118 

liopfner's  Institutions,  60 

Hugo,  60. 

lluss,  and  Bohemians  at  Prague,  19. 

lngolstadt,  univ.,  10,  11.  14,  15,  17,  20,  157,  159,  253. 

Iunsprnck.  university,  JO,  198. 
Instruction,  22,  23. 

Jarcke,  126,  129. 

Jena,  university,  10, 17.  53,  56,  80,  198,  2o3. 

Jena  Burschenschuft,  131,  132,  133,  168. 

Jerome  of  Prague,  19. 

Jesuits,  property  of,  to  universities,  14,  A). 

Jews,  property  of,  to  Heidelberg,  20. 

Jugendbund,  147. 

Justi,  253. 

Kamptz,  von,  87. 


25i 


INDEX  TO  RAUMERS  GERMAN  UNIVERSITIES. 


Kie!,  university  of,  16,  53,  81,  198. 

Kieser,  Prof.,  82. 

Ktockenbring,  186. 

Kliipfel,  53,  54,  57,  253. 

Knigge,  *on,  186. 

Koch.  '241,  253. 

Koiiigsberg,  university,  10,  17,  198    253 

Korner,  248. 

Kutzebue,  von,  115,  186. 

Lnndshut,  university,  10. 
Landamanmchaften,  52,  161. 
Latin,  in  university  exercises,  &c.,  24. 
Law,  study  of,  nt  Bologna,  9. 

faculty  of,  26. 
Lectures,  21-4,  27,  159,  201,  213. 
Legacies  to  universities,  20. 

Leipzig    university,  10,'l4,  15,  18,  19,  20,  52,  185,  198. 
Leopold  1.,  and  Halle,  17,  192. 
Liberal  arts,  21. 
Licentiate's  degree,  21. 
Linz,  university,  10. 
Liitichius,  253. 
Luther,  33,  40. 
Lyceum,  216. 

Marburg,  university,  10,  17,  185,  198,  233,  253. 

master,  degree  of,  20. 

Master  of  liberal  arts,  21. 

Maximilian  I.,  and  universities,  15,  16. 

Medicine,  school  of,  at  Salerno,  9. 

Meiners,  14,  56,  65,  233,  253. 

Mederer,  253. 

Melauethon,  34,  35,  40. 

Mentz,  university    10,  211. 

Methfessel,  247. " 

Meyfart,  47,  191,  254. 

Mineralogy,  244,245. 

Mohl,  R.  von,  29,  254. 

Morals,  at  universities,  29,  44,  56,  59. 

Motschinann,  254. 

Munich,  university,  10,  198. 

Minister,  university,  198. 

Nations,  in  universities,  10,  18. 

in  seventeenth  century,  50. 
Natural  history,  243. 
Natural  science,  225,  241. 
Notaries,  imperial  rector  may  make,  17,  195. 
Notes,  lecturing  from,  201. 

taking,  of  lectures,  202. 


'253. 


"  Notices  of  University  of  Frankfurt, 
Nuremberg,  152. 

Olmutz,  university,  10,  198. 
Orders,  (students'  societies,)  56. 
Organization,  9,  10,  18,  20. 
Osnabriick,  university,  10. 
Overseer  of  university,  137. 
Oxford,  university,  11. 

Paderborn,  university,  10. 

Palackv,  254. 

Paris,  university,  9,  10,  18,  21. 

Pennalism,  40,  42. 

Pctrus  Ilispauus,  22. 

Plnlologv.  227. 

Philosophical  and  professional  studies,  223. 

Piderit,  254. 

Pins  II  ,  bull  to  Ingolstadt,  14,  152. 

Poet  laureate,  rector  appoint.  17,  196. 

Prague,   univ.,  «J,   10,  14,  15',  18,  19,  20,  159,  198,  254. 

Priscianna,  22. 

Privileges  of  universities,  13,  21. 

Procurator,  10.  1H. 

Professor,  relations  of,  to  students,  229 

Pro-rector,  195. 

Quadrivium,  21. 

Ratishon.  diet  of,  48. 

Runner,  K.  von,  58. 

Rector,  9.  10.  13,  17,  19,  20,  21, 195,  233. 

Reformation,  14,  20,.  33. 

Rehtmeier,  254. 


Rinteln,  university,  10,  17,  233,  254. 

Rome,  morals  at  university,  30. 

Rommel,  254. 

Roncaglia,  diet  of,  9,  11. 

Rostock,  university,  10,  51,  52,  53,  185,  198. 

Rudolph  of  Austria,  charter  to  Vienna,  11,  13. 

Salerno,  school  of,  9. 

Salzburg,  university,  10. 

Sand   K.  L,  102,  103. 

Savigny,  9,  220,  222,  254 

Schenkeudorf,  245,  248. 

Schuller,  70. 

Schleiermacher,  72,  153. 

Schlikenrieder,  254. 

Schorists,  41,  43. 

Schottgen,  45,  48,  50,  254 

Schreiber,  254. 

Schroder,  43.  . 

Schubert,  von,  241. 

Schultz,  157. 

Schuppius,  47,  254. 

Schwab,  254. 

Schweigger,  145. 

Scientilic  academies,  236. 

Senate  of  university,  20. 

Sittewald,  P.  von,  44. 

Society,  effect  of,  on  students,  234. 

Songs,  students',  245. 

Sorbonne,  10. 

Sotzmann,  59. 

Spener,  231. 

Speyer,  lyceum  at,  216. 

Stargard,  gymnasium,  217. 

Statutes  of  universities,  10. 

Stelfens,  71,  72,  203,  236. 

Stipendiaries,  207. 

Strasburg,  university,  11. 

Students,  oath  at  Ingolstadt,  153 

effect  of  society  on,  234. 

son»s  of,  245. 

relations  to  professors,  229. 

effect  of  traveling  on,  63. 


Text-books,  22,  159. 
Theology,  9,  14. 

faculty  of,  14,  25. 
Theremin,  201. 
Tornek,  254. 

Traveling,  good  for  students,  63. 
Trivium,  21. 
TUbingen.  university,  10,  11,  2< 

253.  254. 
Turners,  dialogue  on  them,  92. 


i,  21,  29,  56,  187,  198, 


Universities.     See  under  their  names. 
foundation  of.  9. 
list  as  founded,   10. 
charters,  11,  158. 

popes  and,  14. 

emperors  and,  15. 

organization,  18. 

studies,  22. 

action  of  Bundestag,  129. 

statistics,  198. 

authorities  on,  253. 

small  and  large,  compared,  536. 

Vienna,  university.  9.  11,  13,  14,  18,  20,  159,  198,254. 
Viila  Dei,  Alexander  de,  22. 
Vitry,  Jacques  de,  31. 

Wagner,  241. 

Waldeek,  ISO. 

Wangenbeim.  von,  87. 

Wart  burg  festival,  82,  109. 

Werner,  74,  203. 

Wesaelhoft,  R.,  80.  Ill,  254. 

Wittenberg,  university.  10.  16,  32,  241,  253. 

Wolf,  F.  A.,  59,  69,  203,  204.  206,  209,  222. 

Wiirzburg,  university,  10,  198,  253. 

Zawnemannin,  H.,  17. 

Zeisl,  253. 

Zurich,  university,  198. 


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